Sharpshooter
by EmelieBane
Summary: Keith and Shiro are cops at the same precinct. They are sent out to find a thief on a spree, code name Sharpshooter. Keith doesn't know that it's a figure from his past, but he knows one thing: he liked him. Requested by Shiranai Atsune
1. The Crime

Keith was pretty young for a cop. He had been, what was defined by the adults in school as, a "troubled kid". He was smart but had a hard life. He graduated early from high school, and applied to be a cop. He wanted a different, still structured, environment, from school and his childhood environment. He excelled at all of the various tasks that made up the training. Passed all the written tests with flying colors. He struggled with the physical portions of the training; not enough to fail but it did shatter the illusion of perfectness with his fellow classmates and gave him a certain relatableness. Yet Keith never could really make friends. He was too closed off and the others sensed it too. He was chosen to go to an area with a mediocre amount of crime. He liked it that way.

He was the youngest one in his precinct, but there were a few recruits who were around his age so he did not feel inferior. The other cops often joked about him being young. Keith figured they were intimidated slightly by his presence and that's why he was the butt end of the jokes. The captain wasn't aware of the comments and Keith never bothered to inform her. They didn't bother him.

Not everyone made jokes. Keith had a few people in which he could hang out with on break, or they would come visit whilst Keith was filling out and filing paperwork. The first person he met was, of course, the Lieutenant Allura. She was fair and kind, but did not allow bullshit. Keith felt welcomed into the precinct with her as the person in charge. She introduced him to Takashi, his partner-in-crime.

Takashi, or "Shiro" as he told Keith to call him, was a young war-veteran who got a job as a police office after returning home due to immense injury. Shiro and Keith spent long days sitting in their cop car, chatting and getting to know each other. Shiro looked tough and Keith never wanted to get on his bad side. He expected Shiro to be cold and isolating but he was actually warm and inviting. One day whilst on patrol, Shiro had told Keith the story of how he lost his arm. There was an attack on his base, with poisoned bullets. Shiro was lucky he only got shot in the arm, some others weren't as lucky, and had to get his arm off so the poison wouldn't spread. Keith didn't dwell on the details, but did inform Shiro that if he needed anything he would be there. Shiro told Keith the same thing. Shiro had become a test dummy, and through the weeks Keith worked with him, he had a new prosthetic arm technology almost every week. They became close as friends. Keith started hanging out with him at the office too. That's how he met, and became friends with, the whole "team".

Coran was the third person he met. Coran was Allura's assistant and he was good at his job. Coran was bubbly when answering the phone, when talking to people, and when dealing with criminals on the rare occasion. Coran had helped Keith with processing the paperwork and Keith discovered why Shiro told him Coran was a lot. He talked Keith's ear off but Keith didn't mind. It just meant he didn't have to talk. Coran hung out with the two cops over breaks and Keith grew fond of the various rantings and ravings of orange mustached man.

After Keith's first arrest as Shiro's partner, he met Pidge. He wasn't sure about Pidge at first for a couple of reasons. Firstly, Keith did not get off on the right foot with Pidge. When first introduced, Keith thought Pidge was male and address her as such, saying "Nice to meet you Mr., er, Doctor, Holt." Pidge didn't seem to be offended, but Keith still felt bad. Secondly, Pidge worked in the morgue. Keith had just arrested someone who shot and killed someone else. He was shaken up by the whole experience of seeing an actual dead body. The way Pidge was so comfortable around it, and was excited to dissect the person, made Keith uneased. He did note that Pidge wasn't disrespectful in any way, asking if we knew who the person was and if the family has been notified. Pidge was bright and bubbly despite her morbid job. She greeted them warmly when they did meet, and even though Keith messed up Pidge didn't treat him different from the others. She instructed Shiro about where to put the body and then showed Keith his side of the policy when it comes to bodies. Pidge brightened up their breaks; she rarely talked about morgue subjects unless it was in reference to one of their cases.

Keith immediately knew Hunk was going to be a good cop. Keith was glad when Hunk entered the squad, as Keith had been the 'new guy' for a while. No one was hard or mean to him because of it, Keith just felt like he was intruding until Hunk arrived. Like he had to prove his worth as a new cop, that he fit the job. Now that a new person was here, he didn't feel the pressure. Hunk brought in pastries on the first day, and Keith gave him the tour on Allura's request. Hunk was very sociable. Keith could tell he would be a good cop for situations where they had to talk down a criminal or ease a worried/panicking civilian. Hunk had a calming presence about him. He was open and bubbly. How anyone could hate Hunk, Keith didn't know. Hunk during their breaks, and eventually precinct socials, told them about how people looked down on him for not being physically fit. Which was a lie; Hunk was sporty as hell, it was due to his body size that people made assumptions about his athletic ability. Keith invited Hunk to go to the gym with him to workout after work approximately two weeks after he joined the force and Hunk teared up.

One day, almost a year into Keith's employment at the precinct, Allura called a meeting in her office with Keith, Hunk, and Shiro. The boys stood at attention along the wall and watched as she paced back and forth after closing the blinds. She finally sat down at her desk and opened a case file. It wasn't the biggest keith had seen, but it had multiple reports.

"There is a criminal on the loose. Recently had not been active until a day ago when he popped up."

"Any patterns?" Shiro asked.

"He typically targets wealthy neighborhoods. Doesn't kill anyone; he goes in, tazes or knocks them out, steals a bunch of expensive stuff, and we aren't sure how he decides to sell the items. There is no pattern of pawn shops or online auctions. We know it's him because of his signature stamp; he always uses knockout darts to make his victims pass out. Due to this, he's known as Sharpshooter; he always lands the shot and never misses."

"At least he isn't killing anyone," Hunk awkwardly pointed out. Allura gave him a look and Hunk decided to keep talking, nervously. "I mean, he could kill them. He definitely had the opportunity each time…"

Allura raised an eyebrow and Keith felt bad for Hunk. He had a point; not a good one, but Keith could see what Hunk was trying to get at.

"I think what Hunk was trying to get at is," Keith backed him up, and Allura's confused glare shifted to him, "that this guy obviously is just in it for the money. Maybe he can be reasoned with?"

Allura's curious glare turned into a smile.

"Maybe. You guys are going in with non-lethals as your primary defense, lethals only if Sharpshooter pulls them."

Allura handed them the report to look at. There were some shitty camera surveillance photos that didn't give them much to work off of appearance-wise. His name was in Allura's handwriting as SHARPSHOOTER. There was a list of items stolen from various neighborhoods and houses. He typically wouldn't stay in one area for more than two robberies, but he did have a pattern.

"So what's the plan?" Shiro asked.

"Tonight we are sending teams of two into the neighborhoods that, according to the pattern, he would target next. Shiro, Keith, you two. Hunk, you're with a cop from the other precinct that the neighborhood crosses over into named Shay. I'm with the Lieutenant of the other precinct, Lotor. And a few more cops from this precinct will be monitoring and updating us on surrounding areas. One person will enter the house, the other will wait outside incase Sharpshooter bolts and the cop can't immediately chase. You are dismissed."

They all exited the office, Shiro elbowing Keith on the way out and mentioning jokingly how he's stuck with Keith again. Keith returned the elbow jab in a playful manner. They headed to their adjoined desks and Keith sighed at the paperwork. He didn't mind paperwork, it was more so the quantity of it that had him not looking forward to it. Hunk had to go interview a witness for a recent arrest he did. Across from Keith, Shiro worked away at his own mountain of paperwork. Shiro had apprehended a druglord. Keith helped him with the arrest, providing backup. That was apart of Keith's workload too. Keith sat down at his desk, excited for the evening to come.

Over his time at the precinct, he found that he enjoyed being out of the brick walls more, whether or not the night was full of action or not. Keith kept track of time, disappointed every time minutes had passed and not hours.

Shiro brought takeout to Keith at sunset, a few hours before they were supposed to go out to their station. Shiro discussed with Keith about how they were going to approach they night. Keith was better at stealth than Shiro, and Shiro was better at running than Keith, so they decided that Keith would be going into the house if Sharpshooter was there and Shiro would wait to see if he ran and as back up.

Shiro drove Keith into the neighborhood in his made-into-a-cop-car.

"What the hell?" Keith commented when he saw Shiro's choice of vehicle. "Out of all the cars you could drive, you choose this tiny-ass Passion Coupe?!"

Not only was it tiny, but there was more personality. The original color of the car was a bright pink that made Keith think of Hello Kitty. A graphittist thought so too; everyone at the office, Shiro revealed, teased him because he hasn't caught the person who painted a Hello Kitty symbol on the trunk of the vehicle. On the top of the car was a set of police lights, installed for the car. It wasn't the color that made Keith laugh as he squeezed into the passenger side. He liked the color pink himself (although he wouldn't flaunt that fact). The people who knew Shiro would figure he would be into a camo car that's big and bulky. Keith questioned if Shiro could even fit into the car before the driver proved he could.

"Listen up, Deputy Kogane. At least I'm not trying to compensate, Mr. Dodge Ram."

"Just drive." Keith growled, turning away to hide his smirk.

Their stationed point was a cul-de-sac full of big houses, long paved driveways, and pristinely cut lawns that made Keith grimace. He pictured his one bedroom apartment and all the repairs that needed to be done. That HE needed to do, or get one of the others help him out with. Shiro would probably get mad if he saw the space in which Keith lived. It was better than absolute poverty, and Keith was grateful that he didn't grow up into the cycle. But many of these rich people would never even know how bad some people had it. Keith knew his view of rich people was cynical, and there were good rich people who donated to charities and whatnot. It was more so the ones that threw extravagant parties just because and waste food and resources. The ones that don't give a shit that people like Keith were living paycheck to paycheck (at least until he secured more time in the precinct) and eating shit food because that was all they could afford. Keith felt lucky that he had a roof over his head that was his own, and he could afford to eat three meals a day. One of which typically included takeout.

Keith rolled down the window to let some cool air in. His thoughts had distracted him and when he came back to the present he realized how stuffy Shiro's car was.

"So, what's our story?" Keith asked. Shiro, since parking the car on the bottom of the cul-de-sac, had turned on the music radio and was on his phone. Keith peaked over at his screen.

"Seriously?" He chuckled flatly "You're looking at memes during a stake-out?"

"Only the wholesome ones. You gotta entertain yourself somehow." Shiro retorted with a chuckle.

"Aren't I enough entertainment?" Keith smirked.

"No." Shiro said flatly. The two glanced at each other and burst into laughter. Keith hushed them both.

"I'm going to go see if Sharpshooter is in any of the houses already," Keith said after he calmed down. Shiro nodded. Keith went to open the door when-

"Oof!" a male voice exclaimed. Keith froze and then immediately closed the door. He peaked out and saw a male lying on the ground, rubbing his head. Keith took in this guy's features; his caramel skin, his contrast of sharp and soft features, and the fact he was dressed in all black.

"Sorry dude, didn't see you there," Keith said awkwardly. The guy got up slowly.

"It's okay," the guy looked at Keith.

Keith didn't know any openly gay cops in his precinct. Or any queer people. He didn't want to be the first. The man he accidentally sent to the ground made Keith feel like HE was the one who was just hit by a car door.

The guy leaned into the window, resting his elbow along where the glass disappeared. He eyed Shiro and then returned his beautiful eyes to Keith.

"What are two majestic boys such as yourselves doing in a parked car this fine evening?" He said hoarsely. There was a long pause before Shiro elbowed Keith softly, unnoticeably.

"Just, uh, waiting for a friend," Keith finally said, clearing his throat.

"We are going to this epic party," Shiro said, trying to sound cool. Trying.

"Sounds fun," the guy said, his eyes not leaving Keith. Keith had a weird feeling in his stomach, a sense of familiarity. He couldn't quite figure it out, but this guy sounded familiar.

"What are you doing walking around this late?" Keith asked.

"Oh, you know, went for a late night jog. Gotta keep up the cardio in case I happen to meet someone cute one day," Lance said, wiggling his eyebrows at Keith. He was definitely flirting with him. But Shiro was right there. Keith averted his eyes. There were a few lights on but the night was quiet, apart from the radio in the car.

"Hunk said he will be out in a moment," Shiro told Keith. The guy looked around, taking his arm off of the ledge.

"Well, should probably be getting back to my parents. Night boys, be safe." The guy gave them finger guns as he sauntered away. He went over to a house with a light on in one of the back rooms. Keith still felt that there was something about him… Had he met this guy before? The way he talked, the way he flirted, was ringing a cacophony of bells inside Keith's head. As the guy walked away, Shiro suddenly stiffened. He grabbed the Sharpshooter case folder, opened up to the shitty picture. He put it up for comparison. The guy they were just talking to had the same build, and from the distance looked approximately the same height. It was impossible to tell the ethnicity of the person in the photo.

Instead of walking in through the front door, the person in question snuck around to the back.

"You think that's our guy?" Keith whispered, despite Shiro being the only person within a five meter radius of him.

"Possibly? I mean, why did he go into the back. Why is he going to his parents when he looks around your age?"

"Hey! I'm not that old," Keith retorted. "And maybe he is visiting?"

Shiro gave him a doubtful look. They stared at each other until Keith broke.

"Fine, I'll go inspect. Radio in if you see anything suspicious."

"You too," Shiro said. He ruffled Keith's hair with his new robot arm, and Keith almost teared up at how fatherly it felt. He looked up to Shiro these days yet saw him as an equal. Shiro and he both had shitty pasts but were brought together to form a brotherly bond. Keith exited the car and made sure he did it as quietly as possible as to not draw attention to himself from anyone nearby. He snuck around the house to the back door, which he horrifically realized was locked. The window was open enough for Keith to slip into; and, he thought, for the guy from earlier to slip in. He readied his taser and ventures cautiously further into the house.

There was a singular light on in the kitchen, through a hallway and a dining room. He heard some sort of disturbance in the kitchen. Keith tredded lightly on the hardwood floor of the mansion-of-a-house. Was careful to stay out of the light casted in the doorway, in case his shadow gave away his presence. He heard a voice saying something.

"Shit," a familiar voice said. After a few seconds, Keith heard a gentle thud and the voice repeated the curse. At the end of the hallway, when he entered the dining room, he almost tripped over the two bodies on the ground. Keith maneuvered flawless, recovered from the shock of finding two bodies, and sprung into action. He checked for signs of life, relieved when the two seemed to be unconscious and alive. Upon inspection, he found a dart in both of the victim's necks. He internally swore. He could have prevented this. It was Sharpshooter who spoke with him earlier. Keith made sure the two victims were stable before daring to peek into the kitchen. He had been hearing the same word over and over again.

Keith blew his cover. When he peered into the other room, he couldn't control the laughter that escaped him. Sharpshooter was sitting on the kitchen island, a bag of grapes half empty, grapes scattered around him on the island and on the floor. He was throwing grapes into the air and trying to catch them in his mouth. Judging by the amount on the floor, Sharpshooter was significantly better with a gun. He had just missed again when Keith had laughed. Keith jumped back, hoping despite the odds that Sharpshooter didn't think anything of it.

"Whoever you are, you threw off my game!"

Keith stayed put but chuckled. He heard the guy sigh.

"You're either a cop or a thief. Whichever one it is, I know you are there so you might as well come out."

Keith readied his stun gun and entered the doorway, aiming at the boy on the counter.

"Come peacefully and you will get a lesser sentence." Keith firmly said, but his voice quivered. Sharpshooter smirked and raised his knockout dart gun.

"I may not be the best at catching grapes in my mouth, but I assure you, I will only need one shot. And it will be quick."

Keith got a good intake of his surroundings. He noticed the guy had a big bag that looked full. The guy seemed relaxed with a gun pointed at him at first glance, but Keith saw the worry in his eyes and the tremble in his non-shooting hand.

"Come peacefully," Keith said again, not letting his eyes leave Sharpshooter's. A sudden look of realization took over Sharpshooter's face.

"Wait, you're that guy from the car!" he exclaimed and Keith smirked. God that was hot.

"Give yourself up. We have been tracking your movements, and have found you. We will catch you again if you somehow manage to get away right now."

The guy didn't budge.

"What's your name?" Keith tried a different route. The guy glared at Keith for what felt like an hour due to the tension.

"Lance."

"Hi Lance. You have been linked to multiple different crime scenes. Breaking and entering, theft, and forcing drugs onto civilians, to name a few. The sooner you come in, the less of your life you will spend behind bars, the less life you are wasting. Since you haven't killed anyone, your sentence is incredibly better than if you had. If you shoot me with that, your sentence will be worse since I am a cop-" Keith said logically, but was interrupted.

"Why do you care?" Lance snapped. Keith hesitated and was caught off guard. The rest of his monologue flew out the window.

"I care because… well I don't know. I care because this is a poor life choice you made..." Keith trailed off because Lance cackled. "What's so funny?"

"It's all the same for you cops." Lance bitterly said. "You think that I am in control of my life. Do you think I chose to be the oldest child in my family? I chose that my parents couldn't get enough money to pay for an education for me? I did choose to start stealing but what were my options? What were the other fucking options cop dude? I would LOVE for you to tell me how to get more money. I'm already working two jobs to support my family. Then I do this because four incomes isn't enough. I do this so that my siblings can pick whether they want to live with our parents or if they want to live with me."

Keith felt a part of him empathize with Lance; that had never happened before with anyone he arrested.

"There's other job options. These people don't deserve to have their home invaded and their stuff stolen." Keith said. Lance scoffed.

"Do you know how hard it is for someone like me to get a good livable paying job? And these people… they are living in luxury. They have never known what it's like to go hungry because your sibling's development is more important than your own. They have never experienced having to do terrible, degrading things in order to get next months rent and food on the table. Do you think I take pride in this? I don't. But I do what's necessary to survive and help my siblings."

Keith was speechless and solemn. He understood why Lance was doing this now; obviously he didn't fully understand it, as he had never been in those circumstances. He was an only child with a single parent. His dad always made sure he would be fed. He felt in this moment defeated. He had to do his job, it was the law. But Lance wasn't to blame; he had shitty circumstances. He wasn't causing permanent damage. He had some morality.

"Lance, I promise if you come with me without fighting back we can help you get resources once you get out of jail, if it even comes to that." Keith thought of the different programs set up to help Mala Prohibita criminals. Hell, Lance could get a job at the precinct. "I can help you and your family."

Lance's shooting arm was shaking slightly. He looked like he was fighting an internal battle.

"That sounds like some bullshit," Lance said, his voice cracking part way through.

"Lance, you have a gun pointed at me. Why would I lie?"

Lance gave Keith a once over.

"Because you don't want me to shoot you so you offer me a sweet lie. You want me to cooperate."

"I want you to get the help you deserve!"

Lance bolted, grabbing the bag of goodies. Keith could not catch up; he decided to radio Shiro. By the time Keith made it outside, Lance was in handcuffs, connected to a grate in the ground. Shiro waved joviously at Keith.

The car ride was silent again, a part from the music Shiro played. Lance was passed out in the back; the two cops were to arrest him while the rest of the group went to the crime scene and helped the victims. Shiro happily hummed along to songs Keith didn't know. Keith watched the boy in the back of the car. Lance had put one of his own darts into him while Keith and Shiro transferred him from the grate to the car. Keith pondered the boy. He didn't attack Keith, so he was in a good place for court. Hopefully the victims won't press charges. Keith pondered Lance. He had morals; he didn't kill any of his victims. He only stole the food and expensive items. He was trying to feed his family. Keith did think that Lance could have had a choice, but the thing is Lance didn't know he did. He thought about how his family might think of Lance now that he was a criminal. Would they still love him?

Shiro and Keith got to the precinct and Shiro had to carry Lance. They were the first to arrive; Shiro suggested taking him down to Pidge to give her the darts that were still in Lance's pouch. The pair of cops received a slew of strange looks from their co-workers. Keith had the upper half while Shiro had the lower. As they passed, Shiro called out "We've got Sharpshooter!". That sent the precinct into applause and Keith face into a shy blush.

"What do you have?" Pidge asked when the boys were halfway down the stairs, in her line of sight. The boys were focused on carrying Lance and didn't answer.

"WHO do you have?" Pidge said, sounding concerned but also curious. She pointed to a table for them to put Lance on until they wanted to relocate him again. Shiro cuffed him to the legs of it, in a position Keith could only imagine being uncomfortable when Lance wakes up. Pidge guided them into her lab space, Keith following them in but staying at the door. He watched as Pidge took the darts Lance was carrying, dumped the contents onto a film, put it under the microscope, and looked at the substance. For a while. Too long for Keith to focus. He was tired and, although he wouldn't admit it, on edge for a reason he couldn't pinpoint why. Keith decided to explore the lab. He walked around the perimeter; stopped to examine a skull on Pidge's desk.

"Don't touch that" Pidge said, not moving her head.

How could she see him? Keith thought. He kept going. He tried poking something else that he wasn't sure what it was.

"Or that."

A few seconds later, Keith found something else.

"Officer Kogane?" Shiro said.

"Yeah?" Keith said. Shiro cleared his throat and tossed something at him. Keith caught it and grimaced at Shiro once seeing the fidget device. He silently accepted the tool and resumed his position leaning on the door frame. He watched Pidge fiddle around with science books and machines. She luckily did not have any autopsies to do.

"Whaaat…?" Keith heard a male voice groggily say. He turned around and saw Lance was waking up, wiggling his arms and trying to stretch but finding out he's cuffed. Keith left the doorway and approached the criminal. He wiggled around, obviously disoriented and confused. Keith waited for him to speak, standing on Lance's left side with his arms crossed and a neutral expression on his face. He tried to hide his fascination with the criminal.

"Where am I?" he said. "Am I… on a table? Wait… Am I cuffed to the table?"

"Yeah," Keith deadpanned.

"Kinky!" Lance exclaimed, winking at Keith. Keith flustered. "I've tried ropes and belts, but this is a first for handcuffs…"

If Keith wasn't blushing before, he was DEFINITELY now.

"That's… a bit more information about you than I want…" Keith tightly said. He shrunk into himself. Lance gave him a good once over, an inquisitive expression on his face and something in his eyes.

"You look familiar…" Lance said. This made Keith more uncomfortable than before, which he thought to be impossible. Keith shrugged, not wanting to admit that Lance DID seem familiar.

"Yeah, I arrested you." Keith deadpanned. "Can you tell me what was in those darts?" Keith decided to switch the topic to his job. Lance did not fall for it.

"Come on, do you think I look familiar?" Lance asked. Keith kept his stare on the boy. "Humor me."

"No," Keith deadpanned. He turned away and called to Shiro. "He's awake."

"And very uncomfortable!" Lance called after. Shiro entered the room, looked between Lance and Keith, and then told Keith to bring him upstairs for holding.

Keith took Lance's feet first, uncuffing one from the table, then attaching it to the other one, before going to the hands. Keith told Lance not to resist, to which earned him a remark about about a roleplay situation where Lance was on the giving end of that statement and not the receiving end. Keith cuffed Lance's hands together, got him to sit up, and while holding on tightly to the wrist shackles, undid the feet cuffs. He led a complacent Lance to a holding cell upstairs. The only available one was near Keith's desk. Keith was fine with that, only because he could watch Lance's behavior better if he was close to him. Laid down on the bench, his gaze never leaving Keith. The cop in focus did paperwork in the meantime. He still had a lot of it to do. He tried to focus but his mind kept drifting to the Latino in the cell behind him, where he knew him from. Lance had never been caught, so Keith probably had never arrested him before. It's not like Keith was a part of a previous precinct, this was his first. He would have to dig up a yearbook when he got home later that night. He shrugged off the thoughts, leaving the investigation for later that night. He continued to do paperwork - and got most of it done - until Shiro tapped him on the shoulder. Keith jumped; he was so focused on his work that he didn't hear Shiro approach.

"Hey, time to clock out," the older cop said. "Did he talk?"

"I honestly don't know if he knows how to without flirting or making any sort of innuendo," Keith commented. He warily looked over to the cell, relieved to see Lance sleeping on the bench.

"Yeah… He seems to like you in particular," Shiro elbowed Keith. Keith smacked him lightly.

"Hey!" a criminal in another cell called. "Can I use my phone call now?"

Lance bolted into a sitting position on the bench and Keith groaned. Shiro sighed and told Keith he would handle the call. Lance approached the cell door and smiled.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow," Keith said. He smirked. "Have a nice sleep."

Keith started to leave but Lance called something out when he was halfway out.

"I remember where I know you from!"

Keith rolled his eyes and kept walking. It was probably a way to rile Keith up, to keep him busy, and a source of entertainment for Lance.

"Deputy, if you come back, I'll jog your memory."

Keith kept walking.

 **A/N: HUGE thanks to Shiranai Atsune for suggesting this. I had fun writing it and trying to figure out how it would go down. I hope you all enjoyed it! Not sure how long this will be, but more will come.**

 **Let me know how you feel about it :)**


	2. The Criminal

Keith stumbled into his apartment, tired, on edge, and needing a shower. Keith liked having showers; he often used the time to think about his day, or if he had a problem he would try and think of a solution. Sometimes he daydreamed. Sometimes he spent the whole shower focusing on the way the water felt, hot and hitting his skin, relaxing his muscles and washing off the day.

Keith set down his work bag. Cosmo, his dog, ran up to him, jumping and on a quest to lick Keith's face. Cosmo ran around Keith a few times in circles before attempting the quest again. Keith laughed at the dog. He was able to make it to the middle of the living room when Cosmo finally succeeded; more accurately, Keith crouched down and pet Cosmo while the dog happily lapped at Keith.

"Who's a good dog? Who's a good boy?" Cosmo already knew he was a good boy. Keith sauntered over to the kitchen, Cosmo following close behind, and grabbed the bag of dog food. Keith had gotten Cosmo when he first graduated from the police academy and moved to the apartment. He found himself to be lonely in a way he had not felt before, and the next day decided to adopt a dog from the local shelter. Keith had a couple of days to move in, so he went to the shelter on the second day of his break before starting work.

The person at the front counter greeted him energetically, escorting Keith to where the dogs were kept. As Keith was going down the aisle, most of the dogs were chilling in their cages, not giving Keith more than a head raise or a tail wag. All except for this cute husky (a baby despite its size, according to the front desk person) who was panting and running in circles, stopping at the front for a moment to look at Keith each revolution. Keith felt drawn to the dog; he liked the energy. He asked the name of the dog, and the worker informed him the name was Cosmo.

Once Cosmo was merrily eating his dog food, Keith queued up his shower playlist, turned on the shower, and let his mind wander.

Keith was glad he lived alone because that meant he could sing in the shower and listen to his music without judgement. The words of the songs flowed out of him naturally. He didn't need to think about them, he only needed to feel them. Keith relaxed as he sang and felt the hot water erase the tenseness in his body. He started thinking about how he knew Lance.

He forgot to check the yearbooks. Keith tried to think of any other context. From the way Lance was calling out to him, it was clearly something more important than he served him coffee or something similar. Lance did say he worked a few jobs. If Keith saw Lance more than once, he would have recognized him, wouldn't he? Keith tried thinking up more situations where he would be memorable enough to elicit Lance's response, but all thoughts that weren't high school had too much room for doubt. Keith turned off the shower and dried himself off. He wrapped the towel around him, being too embarrassed and self-conscious of his body to even let Cosmo see him. Keith had always had issues with his body, some of it relating to him never dating anyone.

The realization and flashback hit Keith like a bus. He remembered.

Keith had felt for years that he was not like the other boys in his classes at school. While they were dating and hooking up, Keith was not. He did not understand what about girls was attractive in a romantic or sexual way. He thought girls were pretty in the same way he thought paintings were but her never felt a drive towards them. He had a drive towards guys, but he didn't identify what it was, or define it, until sophomore year in high school. He had first heard of the term "gay" used to describe a character in a book that they were reading in English. Keith realized that he was that. It was the word to describe him. He was relieved to read a book and feel like someone related to him. He found out later that there was a club at school but he had no intention of joining it. He didn't want to come out yet. He wasn't entirely comfortable with the descriptor, it was like a new pair of shoes. He had already been that guy who skipped a few grades, he didn't need another thing to outcast him from the majority of the populace. Throughout his time at his high school Keith kept his crushes a secret, internal, never acting on them. He had a group of friends but he never really felt any deep attachments to any of them.

When he entered the academy, there was a fellow cop-wannabe who expressed interest in Keith. This guy, Travis, was out and proud to the academy, however never boasted about his dating life. Since he was dating Keith, it made Keith feel good. They dated in secret for a while; going on dates, hanging out, but never going past making out in terms of sexual activity. Keith was happy, giddy almost. He liked having this secret side relationship; it appealed to his rebellious side. Whenever it came to anything past taking off shirts while making up, Keith would always freeze up and get too anxious, too uncomfortable for some reason. Travis suggested different things to help Keith be more comfortable after it happened the first time; they tried having Keith on top (and in more control). They tried Travis being the first one almost fully unclothed. No matter what, Keith would always freeze up and get uncomfortable. Travis didn't mind; he respected Keith's boundaries. Their relationship ended because Travis moved to a different area after graduating, and they figured their long distance relationship would not hold. Keith was sad, but he didn't dwell on it.

Shortly after he first moved into his apartment, he got an app on his phone to search for a potential boyfriend. At least, that's how it started. Many, many, many matches later, Keith was fed up with being shot down because he was not experienced. This is when he met Lance for the first time. They had matched on the app, and Lance had used some corny pickup line.

Lance: Hello there. Is your name Gillette? Because you're the best a man can get ;)

Keith: no my name's Keith. It says it on my profile.

Lance: Omg you're funny. SO, what are you looking for? Hook up, relationship, fwb..?

Keith had answered that he was looking for a hookup. He didn't tell Lance about how he was inexperienced, but they set up a time and place to meet. They met in person at a hotel in the nearby city; He and Lance would split the cost. Lance asked what Keith was into and he told Lance he didn't know. Keith spent that day hyping himself up, preparing mentally for the activity. Making sure he ate good food during the day. Keith wanted to do it.

Lance messaged him the room number while Keith was driving and when he got to the hotel, asked for his room key. He wasn't sure what to expect, so he had brought a bag with supplies (toothbrush, toothpaste, and whatnot). Lance was already in the room, relaxing on the bed. He smiled when Keith entered, looking him up and down.

"Hello," Lance greeted. He patted the space next to him on the bed. "Come get comfortable."

Keith shifted feet awkwardly at the doorway and crossed his arms. Was he really doing this? He thought. He wanted to, but the thought seemed too weird; that he, Keith Kogane, was going to do it. Keith dropped his eyes to the ground.

"Um, I've never done this sort of thing before… I'm not too sure what to do."

Keith was wearing a red button up blouse, black jeans, and a black tie. Lance got up from the bed in a manner that Keith interpreted as a try on seductiveness. He put some music on the television in the room, sauntered over to Keith. He took Keith's hands in his. Rubbed circles on the top with his thumbs. Lance slowly walked backwards, gently pulling Keith with him until they were in the middle of the room.

"I can sense a bit of tension and some nerves." Lance stated. He started swaying a bit to the slow music. Slowly crept his left hand to be at Keith's waist and the cop placed his hand on Lance's shoulder. They swayed along to the music. As they moved, Lance pulled them close together. Keith started relaxing into the movements, resting his head on Lance's shoulder. The hand on Keith's waist travelled down and squeezed his butt. Keith jumped in surprise, his head shooting up. Lance apologized when he noticed the redness starting to form in Keith's cheeks. Lance asked if he could start kissing and Keith told him yes. Lance moved his arms to rest on Keith's shoulders, his hands dangling nimbly. Lance's lips made work of Keith's. The cop took a bold move and deepened it, adding tongue. Lance broke the kiss soon after the kissing overruled the dancing. He asked if Keith wanted to top or bottom to start. Keith, not really knowing his preference, hastily said bottom. Keith guided Lance over to the bed, sitting down, and then Lance moved to straddle him. They resumed the kissing. Lance put his body weight on Keith, he pulled the Latino boy down with him. Lance began grinding on the other boy a bit. Keith noticed and was cool with it; he was really into the kiss. Lance pulled away and took his shirt off - a deep V neck, blue - and snaked his hands under Keith's shirt. Keith moaned at the way his abs were being massaged by the other's thumbs. It was cut off by kissing. Lance parted from him after what seemed like blissful ages.

"May I?" he asked, tugging Keith's shirt lightly. Keith hastily nodded. Lance undid the tie slowly, tossed it aside - I'm gonna have to find that later, Keith thought - and then unbuttoned Keith's shirt one agonizing button at a time, kissing each revealed spot and sending shivers down Keith's torso. Lance returned to his mouth, taking Keith's shirt off as he kissed him. The boys moved to be more on the bed, Keith on the bottom. Lance's hands started at Keith's shoulders and worked their way down his body until the waist of his jeans. Keith started feeling the terror of the unknown again, all those feelings, those wrong wrong feelings, bubbling up.

That this was WRONG, he wasn't supposed to do this. He barely knew the guy, he didn't want to go all the way. But how far would he go? At what point is too overwhelming?

Lance kicked off his dress pants. Keith felt his hand massaging something that hadn't been massaged before. Lance started kissing Keith's jawline, Keith panting at the anxiousness and the thrill. Slowly kisses descended down Keith's chest, then his abdomen, then his-

"STOP!" Keith shoved Lance off of him, sending the Latino stumbling confusedly back and into the dresser. Keith curled up on himself, hugging his knees tightly, face tomato red, his head buried in his knees, and hot tears streaming down his face. He started hyperventilating.

He expected Lance to leave. To yell at him. To do something bad to Keith. Instead, he took in the situation, grabbed the extra blanket in the dresser, and approached Keith.

"Hey man," he gently said. Keith couldn't see him, but if he could he would see empathy and concern in the eyes of the other boy. "I'm gonna place this blanket around you, okay?"

Lance did so without hearing Keith's affirmation. Lance squeezed the balled-up Keith in a firm hug, rocking him back and forth slightly. Waited until Keith's sobs calmed down before speaking. Keith had unfurled a bit while crying, giving into Lance's embrace.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Lance gently said.

"I'm sorry," Keith said sniffling. He felt better, but not great. "I just… I haven't… This was me trying to..."

A look of realization crossed Lance's face.

"How, um, er, far have you gotten before?" he awkwardly asked, then added, "if you don't mind me asking."

"Making out shirtless…" Keith huffed. Now that he was down, he was have self-deprecating thoughts and was swearing at himself. At how weird he was for being scared of it. How weird he was in general, that he shouldn't have cried or freaked out. Keith shouldn't have done this. It was a mistake.

"I'm sorry this happened… Are you okay?" Lance asked. Keith shoved him away, going over to where his clothes were in a pile.

"I'm stupid. I shouldn't have done this," Keith said angrily as he picked up his shirt and put it on. He started buttoning it up. "I'm not thinking. This wasn't ok."

"Are you angry at yourself for freaking out?" Lance asked. Keith scoffed as he finished his buttons. He picked up his tie. Shoved it in his pocket. Lance continued to speak.

"You know, you aren't the first to do that with me. I try to go slow, and I'm cool with not going all the way if you wanted to continue-"

"No!" Keith yelled. He didn't realize he was starting to hyperventilate again. A look of hurt washed over Lance's face. Keith took a few deep breaths. He picked up his bag.

"I'm sorry." He softly muttered, barely audible to Lance. With that, Keith stormed out of the room.

Keith swore to himself. Cosmo, who was sitting patiently outside of the bathroom, looked up at Keith with a questioning look. He nuzzled his head against Keith's hand and Keith gave into the petting him, squatting. Cosmo licked some of the water droplets off of Keith's face and Keith stood up again. With Cosmo in tow, he went into his room to get some sleep.

Sleep evaded him. He laid in bed, wondering how he didn't remember that. How did he not recognize Lance? Perhaps he had blocked it out of his memory. It was quite upsetting. He had tried again after Lance, but he had the same reaction. The second guy wasn't great at responding to Keith's anxieties, yelling at him and kicking him out. Keith hadn't remembered that either until he thought about what happened with Lance. Keith had been at the precinct for almost three years. Things must have gone really down with Lance; he went from paying for expensive hotels and having sexy rondevouzes to working two jobs and thieving. Keith also wondered about how Lance didn't remember him upon sight. He did mention how Keith wasn't the first to react in that way. Did Lance have hook ups often? Did he still do that now? Keith wanted to know but didn't want to ask. He wanted to talk to Lance.

What if he told someone at the precinct? Keith was paralyzed at the thought. This wasn't how he wanted to come out.

Cosmo crawled up onto the bed at around 2AM, made himself at home, and sat on Keith's legs. He looked at Keith for a solid minute before sliding his butt off and lying down next to Keith lengthwise. The presence of Cosmo helped Keith finally fall asleep.

Since Keith worked a late shift last night, he had an afternoon/evening shift the following day. Keith liked this because he could sleep in and stay awake at night, embrace his inner night owl. The world was quiet at night, there weren't as many drivers when he got off work, and Keith could sneak around during a stakeout. He admittedly liked stakeouts and night patrol because he could go on a nostalgia trip to the days he pictured himself as a spy, or ninja, or secret agent. Whatever his imagination made him to be. He used to climb trees when he was younger and look out as if he was on superhero patrol. Now, Keith climbed trees while on hikes. There was one time when a cat got stuck in a tree and he had to rescue it, but that was the only time he did it for work-related reasons. Shiro was surprised when Keith, as smooth as an acrobat, scaled the tree and attained the cat.

Keith rolled out of bed, longing to stay in. Knowing he had to go to work was the only thing motivating him to try to look well-kept and eat decently. Cosmo trotted around the apartment like he usually did. Keith couldn't remember whether he was still in the bed with Keith when he woke up or if Cosmo had been out and about. Keith did his usual morning routine to get ready for work. He got a message from Allura to bring Cosmo in while he was getting dressed.

"You coming to work Cosmo?" Keith asked the dog. Cosmo kept a stern eye on Keith but his tail revealed how excited he was. Keith put Cosmo on his leash and off they went to the precinct.

"COSMO!" Hunk greeted as Keith strutted into the office area. Cosmo pulled Keith so he could go show Hunk affection. Keith left Cosmo with Hunk so he could grab Cosmo's work uniform. When he came back, Shiro and Allura had joined the group. They backed off so Cosmo could prepare for his job.

"There's an apartment we found that we need searched. Before the apartment is upturned and given to someone else." Allura informed Keith as he suited Cosmo up.

"Crime scene?" Keith asked.

"Sharpshooter's apartment. One of our perps claimed him to be a drug dealer on top of the stealing. He hasn't admitted to it, though."

Keith thought about Lance. His lease was almost up. If he's in here and can't pay for his own rent, Lance is going to be on the street. That might increase his stealing habits. He will probably have to pay a fine for the stealing he's already done.

"There's a chance the perp's lying," Keith said.

"Yes, but it doesn't hurt to check. That's why it is a solo mission." Allura said. "Shiro will be interrogating the criminal while you, Keith, will be searching the apartment." Allura passed him a piece of paper with Lance's address on it.

They only drug in the apartment was the knock out one used in the darts. It didn't take long for Keith to find them; they were sitting on Lance's kitchen counter. The apartment was in good shape, to Keith's surprise. The apartment wasn't furnished as much as the typical one. Lance had a television, couch, a single table in the living room. He had a bed and dresser in his room, as well as a tool kit. The kitchen had all of the utilities. The place was clean and no one else was in it. When Keith checked the closets, he found bedrolls. The spare room was completely empty.

Keith returned just as Shiro was putting Lance back in his cell. He greeted Keith by asking if he found anything, to which Keith held up the bag of vials of the drug. He explained to Shiro his boring expedition.

"You went into my place?" Lance exclaimed.

"Yes." Keith flatly answered.

"Why?"

"We got a tip that there might be drugs in there. While that was true, it wasn't the kind of drugs we thought would be," Keith answered. He went over to his desk and sat down to do paperwork. Pidge came to retrieve the she left, Lance called Keith over to him. Keith was dreading this conversation.

"Yes?" Keith said. Lance noticed the cop had tightened up in the five seconds it took him to respond.

"Can we, uh, chat privately?" Lance requested, his voice dropping low to almost a whisper. Keith sighed. He nodded. Why was he so tense? The cop opened the cell, grabbed Lance by the elbow and led him to the interrogation room. He cuffed the boy to the table and shut the door. Keith stood behind the second chair with his arms crossed, hips cocked. There was a silence. Lance sat and waited for Keith to talk while Keith did the same. They stared at each other. Lance checking out Keith, Keith showing lots of signs of discomfort.

"Do you remember?" Lance finally asked. Keith just nodded. "Are you, uh, out to your colleagues?" Keith shook his head. "Have you, uh, tried since then-"

"That's none of your business," Keith snapped. Lance sat back in his seat, eying the coop levelly.

"So you haven't."

Keith scoffed.

"Why do you care?" Keith said, echoing the same thing Lance said to him during the crime the night before.

"Because I saw you. I saw how much you wanted to let go of the fear. I saw the pain in your eyes, the look of betrayal one side of you did to the other. I saw how broken you felt. And you turned that negative internal energy to anger. You have a battle going on inside you that no one can see. I think a part of it is that you do not accept yourself yet."

Keith slammed his fists on the table between them.

"Don't you pretend like you know me. You don't know shit about me." Keith growled.

"I don't need you to tell me things that I know from witnessing. I saw you Keith. You were vulnerable. You are still vulnerable. There's a part of you that doesn't accept yourself and I think telling your friends about your sexuality can help. In that cell I have watched them. You'd be surprised at the compassion in people's hearts."

Keith backed up and retained his closed off stance.

"Says the thief."

"I steal as a means to survive. Don't dodge the topic." Lance said. He leaned forward in interest.

"Officer.." Lance strained to read Keith's nametag. "Coh-gain?" Keith mumbled it was close enough. "I will not out you to your coworkers. But if you need help, I am here."

Keith chuckled darkly.

"You have no choice."

"Fair."

There was another long silence.

"Officer, what will my sentence be?" Lance asked after a while. This threw Keith off guard.

"Uh, probably a fine for the robbery, and jail time for the drugging civilians bit."

Lance asked how much of a fine and Keith answered an estimate.

"I'm gonna be homeless when I get out of jail…" Lance sighed. "Will I be able to claim my stuff?"

"It will be kept at the station."

Keith looked at Lance. He seemed calm, if you didn't take into account his quickly shaking hand, displayed on the table because Lance couldn't put his hands under. Keith felt empathy for Lance. Even though he riled him up, Keith wasn't mad at Lance. He was mad at himself.

He felt like an alien because of his reaction to physical intimacy. He didn't know why; he WANTED to partake in it, but a part of him took over when he was getting there. A part that overwhelmed his senses and brain, screaming NO. It didn't matter how bad he wanted it. And it made Keith frustrated. Keith thought about how caring Lance was that night, how there were a thousand bad tings Lance could have done. But he didn't; he was calming and understanding.

"So why didn't you remember me at first?" Lance asked, interrupting Keith's thoughts.

"I could ask you the same thing."

Lance chuckled.

"Yeah. Um, I am very active on the app we met on. While your, er, reaction was not what usually happens, you aren't the first and were not the last. The men who have reacted the same way as you, most hadn't come out yet. Your reaction is valid. Once I'm out of this place, if you want to try again, I would be down. Up until your freak out, it was pretty good."

Keith turned away to hide the blush forming on his face.

"I've been here for only 24 hours," Lance continued "and I can already tell that the people who will accept you are prosthetic guy, headband guy, morgue person, and the lady who runs the place. They all seem like good people."

Keith was amused at the descriptors Lance came up with for his coworkers. He turned back around to face Lance, took a few deep breaths, sat down. He met Lance's caring gaze.

"If you think this will lessen your sentence, you're mistaken." Keith said coldly.

"Is it a vulnerability thing?" Lance questioned. "You are afraid of being exposed, emotionally and physically?"

Lance was right, but Keith wouldn't admit it.

"You have to let go." Lance continued. "Unburden yourself, free yourself."

"But what if I get fired? What if you're wrong, and I get made fun of?"

Lance's heart broke a little.

"Then that shows who they are." Lance had a twinge of bitterness to his voice. He took a breath.

"But loving yourself is worth the risk."

"You really think so?" Keith stated more than questioned.

"I do. I was made fun of in high school for being bisexual and I didn't give a shit. I was pleased with who I was and the rest weren't of worth. I know it's easier said than done. But I hope you can find a spark within you that sees how cool you are."

Keith couldn't deny it, he was starting to feel something for Lance. He was DEFINITELY not going to admit it to him though. Lance was a good guy, as far as thieves go. He stole but that was because he couldn't afford things with the two jobs he had. He didn't hurt people; all of his passed victims survived because Lance only knocked them out with a light sedative. Pidge was still trying to figure out what it was, because Lance hadn't told them yet. Lance cared about Keith, a stranger, a cop who literally arrested him.

Keith was about to say something when Shiro entered the room.

"Keith, what are doing?" He asked casually.

"Trying to see if I can get any info you couldn't" Keith smirked at Shiro.

"I'm a tough cookie to crack," Lance said, trying to sound like an edgy criminal but failing.

"Yeah, well if you told us the drug this whole process would be much smoother," Keith remarked. He eyed Lance again.

"If I tell you what it is, will you lessen my sentence? What sort of benefits do I get?" Lance bartered.

"You get the piece of mind that you did something good?" Shiro offered.

"Wooow," Keith sarcastically said. "Such a tempting offer for him."

They ended up offering to lessen the fine for breaking and entering. Lance told them how the drug worked; he's built a slight immunity to it, so that's why he is awake and his victims from the night before are still out cold. It was a weird mix of a drug and a venom from a poisonous creature. Keith had never heard of it before. Shiro left, pleased with the information and ran down to tell Pidge, leaving Keith to deal with Lance.

"Thanks," Keith said.

"Whatever. When I get out of here, I'm going to be homeless, so might as well save as much money as I can."

Keith felt bad. What Lance did wasn't great, but he didn't deserve to be homeless. He brought Lance to his cell; the criminal immediately fell asleep. Keith returned to his job at the desk. Although he was focused on his work, he couldn't help it when his mind drifted over to the boy in the cell. He couldn't stop the feeling in his stomach when he recalled the speeches Lance gave him about accepting himself.

He texted Shiro.

 **A/N: Here's the second chapter! Let me know what you think. What do you think will happen to Lance? Is Keith going to come out to Shiro? Stay tuned...**


	3. The Stranger

**A/N: Trigger Warning, Implied/Referenced Abuse. Lance's Parents are OOC**

Keith didn't get the chance to speak to Lance privately after that one time in the interrogation room. They had his court hearing, in which Keith had to go and testify if Lance didn't admit to the crimes he committed. Out of all the duties that came with being a police officer, he hated court. He found it boring and a waste of time for him. He would have loved to be out on the field instead, but he understand that court was important. He was glad that he was supposed to dress in uniform instead of a tux. Keith owned a singular tux, and it didn't fit him well. The only perk with going to court was that Allura typically paid for some snacks for afterward.

Lance admitted to his crimes, apologizing to the family he hurt. They were out of the hospital and back to normal by the time court came around. That was better for Lance. Courts hate hospitalized victims. Lance pleaded guilty to all charges against him, his lawyer managing to lessen his sentence. He was charged with an assault and a breaking/entering. He was to do 3 months in jail, and then community service under strict supervision. Lance unfortunately would not be able to go back to his jobs when he comes out of jail. He will probably lose his apartment.

It was about a month into the sentence when Keith went and visited Lance. A lot had changed in the precinct and it was due to Lance. Keith felt that Lance should know. Through their short time together, Keith had started to feel something for Lance. He felt like Lance was a good guy in a difficult life situation. The days following the trial, Keith paced in his apartment, pondering many things. About himself, his identity, his life. The people he surrounded himself with. About Lance.

He wanted to help Lance and the first thing that came in mind was to provide him with a place to stay. Keith had never shared a place with someone, not a place in which he thought of as HIS. He wasn't sure how comfortable he felt having a criminal in his house. But then he considered Lance. While there were many, many criminals that were horrible people who did horrible things because they are horrible people, there were also those criminals who did their crimes due to the system in place. A system where people like Lance, and also Keith, were at a disadvantage due to something as simple as their skin color and ethnicity. Keith recalled the times he had a cop from another precinct think he was a thug at a crime, when he was actually a cop on a steak out for said crime. Keith knew Lance only stole because he couldn't afford living, even with two jobs. That did not justify his crimes, but Keith figured he would stop his criminal behavior if he had resources to live. Again, he was not thrilled with sharing his space with someone who was basically a stranger.

But was Lance a stranger? Keith thought about What Lance and him know about each other. Lance saw Keith at a vulnerable point during their first interaction. He showed kindness. Keith knew Lance had a difficult relationship with his family. He knew bigger spects of Lance but he didn't know smaller ones. What was his favorite ice cream? Was he a cat or a dog person? Has he ever seen Star Wars? Keith figured that he knew more about Lance than Lance knew about him. From Lance's perspective, a cop was offering him a place to stay after said cop arrested him. That would seem suspicious. Lance knew that Keith was gay, which was a huge thing for Keith. Other than than, Lance did not know much about the cop. It would be a leap of faith for both of them. Keith did not have many valuables for Lance to steal anyway.

Even with all this, Keith felt uncomfortable with letting Lance stay with him. The last time he had shared a living space was when he was at the academy for police training. He had a roommate, whom he did not date at any point. Although, in the apartment there were separate rooms. He didn't like the thought of someone observing his behavior. What would Lance do if Keith had an attack? Should Keith inform him beforehand? His roommate at the academy was decent at dealing with them, but he would try to take Keith out of the room during it. Or would tell Keith after it was over that he didn't get why Keith was having them. But Lance wasn't his academy roommate.

Keith came to a conclusion.

He had chickened out last time he was going to tell Shiro about him being gay. After sending the text, Keith immediately regretted it, and told Shiro that he sent for him because Keith wasn't feeling well and wanted an external opinion. Shiro said he looked redder than usual, but otherwise healthy.

Being a cop, Keith was able to go through the process of seeing prisoners easier than the common folk. He was put through to the picnic tables where the less dangerous prisoners could meet with people face-to-face.

Lance was surprised to see Keith when the guard brought him to the table. He was told that he had a visitor, non-family, who wanted to talk with him. Lance could not think of anyone who would want to see him, family or not. He was sure his family was going to disown him now that he was in the system. They had other children to worry about. Other children that could make them proud, surely forgetting and disowning one son wasn't going to be an issue. He had no friends solid enough that they would visit him. He didn't have a roommate. His siblings, who were all at their parents, wouldn't have a way to see him. So when he saw Keith sitting alone on the bench, it only made Lance even more confused. Why would Keith come see him? Did they have more questions and sent Keith since he was the officer who arrested him? Lance stayed quiet as he was shoved onto the other side of the picnic table, and stared at Keith until mullet cop decided to speak.

"Hey Lance," Keith said, sounding tired. Keith had bags under his eyes. He would not meet Lance's eyes, staring at his own hands.

"Hi," was all Lance could say.

"So um… I'm here for a few reasons." Keith said. Lance noticed he was holding a folder and Lance's heart sank. They were probably going to give him more jail time.

"Go on," Lance said suspiciously. Keith took a deep breath.

"I, uh, want to thank you."

Lance was NOT expecting that. Keith saw the change in expression on the Latino's face. Keith knew that Lance probably wasn't expecting any of this, but he didn't expect him to react so visually.

"For what?" Lance questioned.

"For inspiring me…" Keith trailed off. Lance gestured for Keith to keep talking and he did.

"I came out to Shiro two weeks after your sentencing."

Lance's jaw dropped. This was very unexpected. Did he really cause that big of a change inside of Keith? He perked up, placed his forearms on the table and clasped his hands, leaned forward towards Keith.

"Tell me more," he encouraged. Keith took a deep breath, a smile slipping onto his face.

"So Shiro invited me over for video games on night. Hunk and Pidge were invited too, but they both were busy and couldn't make it. We were sitting there and I was telling him a little bit about your dilemma and why you were into thievery. Shiro asked about where I knew you from, since you were saying that."Keith smirked at Lance, finally meeting his eyes. "Thanks for that by the way"

He continued.

"Anyway, so I told him you and I met, and that the reason we had met before was that I was getting over my ex-boyfriend." Keith paused, agonizingly for Lance.

"And?! What did he say?!" Keith chuckled and looked down at his lap, shaking his head in disbelief.

"He asked if I wanted to meet his fiance, Curtis."

Lance's laugh made everyone's heads turn. Keith chuckled along, in relief of the situation. Once Lance calmed down, he continued. He told Lance about how Shiro explained that he didn't know to inform Keith he was gay because he thought Keith knew. Shiro was apparently out at the precinct. No one gave him shit about it. Together they devised a scheme. Under Keith's consent, Shiro arranged a coming out party for Keith. He didn't tell anyone about it; the two boys went and put up decorations bright and early a week later. They got as much rainbows as they could. Curtis made a cake for them that was a cop uniform on the outside, and a rainbow on the inside. Curtis lived in a separate apartment, but they were in the process of moving into Shiro's place. Then when everyone showed up, Shiro got up on a chair, projecting that Keith had an announcement. Keith then dropped a banner from the ceiling that said "I'm gay". They all had cake. Allura congratulated him, saying he showed tremendous courage to come out at work, and asked if Keith was dating anyone. Hunk gave him a hug and said he would fight any homophobes alongside Shiro. Pidge commented on the cake, and said she could hook him up with some of her brother's friends. That was when Keith found out Pidge had an older brother.

When Keith was done his story, he waited for Lance to say something. Lance spent a minute digesting the information.

"And I am the reason you told them?" Lance asked.

"I thought about what you said and… you were right," Keith admitted. "I needed to come out in order to prove to myself I will be accepted. I know it's not the same for everyone, but that's how it was for me. I've been thinking about how I can, uh, thank you and... well.." Keith looked away from Lance, collecting himself. "When you get out of here, you mentioned not being able to go back to your apartment? Well, my apartment has a spare room. I used it for my dog and storage, but it can be transformed into a room for you. I can help you find work and your community service could be with the precinct."

Lance's face was indescribable. A mixture of surprise, gratitude, and happiness.

"Keith…" Lance breathed. "That would be great."

"My one condition is that you can't do illegal stuff." Keith stated. Lance chuckled.

"Yeah, because I am totally going to base a drug deal operation out of the cop's apartment." Lance sarcastically said. Keith didn't budge, he was serious. "I'm kidding."

Keith glanced at the clock on the wall and decided it was time to leave.

"I will come pick you up after your release, with the lease and everything set up."

The two boys stood up. Lance awkwardly embraced Keith in a hug, which the cop eventually relaxed into and reciprocated. When they pulled apart, Lance turned quickly and uttered a "Thank you" before fast walking back to the passageway between the visiting room and where the yard was. But he wasn't fast enough because Keith had seen the tears in his eyes and smile on his face.

The weeks after Keith's visit flew by. Keith went to work at the same time every day, did almost the same thing. Paperwork mostly. It seemed like every time he was getting close to finishing, he would be put on a new case or called to do something, adding on to the past reports.

Keith's favorite day was when he got to taser a guy he had caught trying to sexually assault someone. Keith had no problem punching him out and making sure the victim was okay. While he was doing the, no surprise, paperwork when he got a call. He didn't recognize the number that came in on his cell phone, but picked up anyway.

"Mr. Kogane?" an unrecognizable voice deadpanned on the other end. Keith corrected them on their pronunciation before allowing them to continue. "We have a prisoner being released and he says you are picking him up."

Keith swore at himself, he forgot that was today.

"Uh yeah, I'm on my way." Keith muttered as he started messily cleaning his work area. He shoved a pile of sheets into his desk drawer, knowing he was going to regret that later, found his keys and rushed to Allura's office. Allura answered right away, warmly inviting him in.

"Hey Keith," she sounded confused. "What's up?"

"I have to go pick someone up," Keith vaguely explained. Allura looked at the schedule and then at the time, then Keith.

"You did book the afternoon off, Keith."

"OH?" Keith did not recall doing that. "Cool… so I will see you tomorrow?"

Allura chuckled. "Yes, you work a half day tomorrow as well."

Keith thanks her and briskly left.

He made it to the holding center Lance was at in an appropriate amount of time. He was still in uniform when he entered the building which made entry easier. He flashed his badge and they let him through, although they seemed confused. He waited near the front desk, where they sign out the prisoners upon release. Keith wasn't sure what to expect, he had never really done this before. He knew what criminals looked like during court and crimes but he never got to see the aftermath of the institution.

Keith hadn't known Lance for long but he did immediately notice the changes. All subtle alone but put together were prominent. The way his eyes shifted, looking around the room for danger. His cheeks were hallower. His beautiful eyes that were once filled with mischief had been replaced by hyper-focused, sunken, and sparkless ones. He was curling in on himself, slouching. His hands were cuffed. As soon as the Cuban boy's eyes met Keith's from the other side of the desk, there was a change; he straightened his posture and a little life was put back into his face. He smiled faintly. The officer guiding Lance shoved the boy onto a bench, addressing the clerk at the desk. The clerk typed at his computer for a few seconds, leaned over to a microphone.

"Keith Kogane?" he said, his voice crackling in the overhead system. Keith stood up and approached. He signed some papers, showed he was who he claimed to be, and they gave Keith a box. Lance was then released from his shackles and was allowed to join Keith in the public area. Keith observed that the Cuban was now shaking. He was wearing the prison uniform still. Did he not have any clothes?

The two walked in silence out to the parking lot, Keith carrying the cardboard box with Lance's name on them. He put it down in the back, then went to his place in the driver's seat. Lance was still shaking. Keith grabbed a blanket he had in his car - he got cold sometimes, especially on steak-outs - and draped it around Lance's shoulders. Keith paused before starting the vehicle.

"What did you want to do?" Keith asked, but Lance just shrugged. Keith suggested a few things, like going to the apartment, shopping for clothes, getting a bite to eat. Lance mumbled an answer and Keith drove to the nearest burger joint. He went through the drive through, noticing the way Lance pulled the blanket to cover the uniform he was still in. It reminded Keith of what the implications of their outfits were; a cop and a prisoner driving together. As they waited to receive food, Keith took off his police gear, leaving on the slack pants and the blue button-up shirt. Lance questioned him, to which Keith responded by saying he didn't want the worker to feel inferior. The lady gave them a bright smile and their food; Keith left a tip like he always did. He drove off, deciding they should go to the apartment. Keith's apartment; Lance's place had apparently cleaned out by his family and Lance wasn't giving Keith any direction as to where they lived. Keith assumed the box had some of Lance's belongings. He didn't want to push Lance into telling him information; he was probably feeling a lot of emotions right now. Lance's eating noises, little moans of satisfaction, gave away all Keith needed to know about the food quality Lance had the past few months. Halfway to the apartment building, Keith swore at himself.

"Lance, are you allergic to or scared of dogs?" Keith asked.

"Nope. Love them." Lance managed to say through his full mouth. His eyebrows raised and he swallowed. "Do you have one?"

"Yep," Lance smiled. "His name is Cosmo-"

"Aww" Lance remarked.

"He is a rescue and loves people. Trained police dog." Keith informed Lance.

Lance finished his burger. He seemed to have a lifted mood now that he had food in him. He looked significantly better, energized.

"How big of a dog?"

Keith told Lance about Cosmo and his personality. Lance asked things about the apartment, to which Keith answered. Lance hinted at the fact he did not have many belongings. Keith told him they can spend the following week hashing out the details of their living together, and that he apparently booked to be in for only half days for the next few days. They arrived at the apartment complex; Keith offered his jacket to Lance to wear until they got inside. Lance gratefully accepted. Lance followed behind Keith, carrying the box. He was thankful that Keith lived on only the second floor.

Cosmo sat and wagged his tail near the entrance to the kitchen, looking curiously at Lance. Keith gave him a tour, the four legged creature following Lance and sniffing him the whole time. Lance set the box on the floor of his new room when they concluded the tour in there. Keith asked if he wanted some time to settle in, and Lance told him that he would appreciate it. The room was cleaned out of Cosmo's stuff and Keith had purged the room of his stuff prior to Lance's arrival. There was a blow up mattress with sheets Keith had. Lance entered the room and shut the door. Keith called that he would be in his own room if Lance needed anything.

Cosmo cuddled up to Keith while he read. He wasn't going to force conversation or invade Lance's personal space. He needed time to adjust. Keith remembered learning something in psychology class years ago about how people responded to change.

After what seemed like forever, there was a soft knock at the door. It had been definitely longer than what it would have taken to clean out whatever was in that box. Keith set his book down on the bedside table.

"Yes?"

"Since we are living together, there are a few things you should know." Lance looked nervous. His arms were crossed; he was still in his prison clothes and wouldn't meet Keith's eyes. Keith gestured for him to come sit on the bed, and Lance obliged. Lance slowly revealed something in his hand; a bottle of pills. Keith must have reacted because Lance immediately recoiled.

"They help me fall asleep." He quickly said. Keith nodded his head solemnly. He thought about telling Lance, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He wasn't sure why.

"I'm usually pretty good at taking them, but sometimes I forget," Lance continued.

Keith nodded. "Anything I need to do?"

Lance thought about it. He asked Keith if he would mind him coming to him every night and Keith watching him take it, that way he can remember to take them and Keith knows he did. Lance told him that he has stopped his meds when he was not feeling mentally good, as a way of punishing and hurting himself. Keith simply nodded solemnly; he wasn't sure what to say. Lance nodded back and returned to the meds his room and came back.

"I have a resume ready… Any jobs you know of? Lance asked. "I have my computer so if you have wifi, I could also look at jobs."

Keith looked at the time. He told Lance he would start on supper, Lance could do whatever. Lance retired to his room.

They ate supper with nothing but the radio to fill the empty apartment. Keith finished his supper before Lance, and went to his room for the night. He set his alarm for work the next day, suddenly really exhausted. As soon as his head hit the pillow, despite being in his clothes and over the covers of his bed, Keith was asleep.

Lance felt like an alien in the apartment. He saw and heard Keith go into his room after finishing supper, and hadn't heard a peep from him since. Keith and him hadn't really talked about what was okay and not okay in regards to invading personal space. Lance didn't know if this was normal for Keith.

He knew how lucky and grateful he was for Keith. The cop seemed to be uncomfortable with the arrangement but said it was fine for Lance to stay there. They had decided that as long as Lance could pay for it through legal means, he could stay with Keith. But those were the only technical things they went over. Lance was going to sign the lease at the end of the month.

Lance decided to check out of Keith was awake. He could be upset for all Lance knew. He didn't know Keith well and the cop was good at masking emotions; the only time he wasn't that Lance knew of was when something deep inside of him was disrupted, was hurt. And it came bubbling out, just like it did when they first met.

The light in his room was still on and the door was slightly ajar. He slowly poked his head in, eyes closed. He called softly out the cop's name, opening one eye and then the other when he saw the sight before him. Keith was passed out on top of the covers, snoring lightly. Lance chuckled; today was a lot for Keith. Cosmo was asleep too, but he was on his own doggy bed in the living room. Lance crept into Keith's room. He slowly folded the sheets on the other size of the queen bed. Keith shifted from his stomach to his back as Lance was doing this but it did not get in the way of his work. Lance daintily and effortlessly picked Keith up into a bridal-style position. He tried to ignore the way Keith snuggled into his chest and how cute his little snores were. He laid Keith on the other side. He considered whether taking off his clothes would be a good or bad thing. It would be awkward if Keith woke up. If Lance puts the blankets on Keith, he might overheat. If he leaves them off, Keith still in his clothes, Keith might get cold. Lance tested Keith's level of sleep by saying his name at various levels; Keith didn't budge. Lance stared at his face, deciding that if Keith got cold, he would wake up naturally and then make a decision for himself.

Lance spent his evening looking for jobs. He figured that his illegal job Keith didn't know about would have to be either moved to a different location, or stopped all together. Lance had applied to a few places before supper, not expecting any of them. Jobs nowadays, Lance found, displayed whether they accept a person with certain criminal backgrounds and if they accept applicants in minority groups. Lance admired that. He was in debt for student loans, but he did have a degree. He hoped that those jobs accepted his criminal background.

Lance had just powered through a new cover letter and application when he heard the first one. He wasn't sure what it was, and the sound was quieter than the ones that followed. The second one was definitely a scream, but it wasn't until the third one that Lance knew what was going on. Cosmo beat Lance to Keith's room and was barking as Lance got in there. He was horrified.

Keith was shaking subtly, curled in on himself, his muscles tense, his shirt soaked through. Tears were streaming down his face. Lance put an arm out to try and touch Keith but recoiled sharply when he screamed again. Cosmo stopped barking; the dog grabbed Keith's pant leg and shook. Lance placed a hand firmly on Keith's arm.

"Keith?!" Lance firmly said, trying to rouse him. Keith's eyes smacked open and he tore away from Lance as he screamed. Lance boggled his brain to when they first met, what Lance had done to help. Keith was sitting on the other side of the bed, dazed and confused. His eyes focused on Lance, his breathing heavy. Keith had unbuttoned his own shirt and upon realizing Lance was looking at him, crossed the wet material over his chest. He had tears flowing down his face. Lance sat down on the bed where Keith had been. The sheets weren't noticeably wet. Lance stretched out his arms, inviting Keith in for a hug. He rested his back on the headboard, waiting for Keith to respond. Keith's breathing calmed down but he was blinking wildly.

"Hey man, it's okay if you need comfort. I'm okay with it."

Keith looked wildly over Lance, a thousand thoughts running through his head that Lance wish he knew. Was he coming off creepy? Comforting? He barely knew Keith. But he saw that he had something bothering him.

Keith huffed and sniffed but did not accept the embrace.

"I'm calm, now get the hell out," Keith grumbled. His eyes were on his shoes.

"Oh…" Lance hoped the hurt in his voice wasn't obvious. He hastily exited the room, hearing some sniffles. He went back to his new bedroom, a weird feeling in his stomach.

He cared for Keith. He knew that they hadn't known each other for long, and he sensed Keith putting up emotional walls when he was uncontrollably vulnerable. Lance knew he was really freaking lucky Keith took him into his home; to expect him to open up and expose his soul to Lance was something Lance shouldn't expect. A part of Lance was sad though.

When he thought about it more, he didn't really know Keith's past; Keith didn't know his. They were strangers who saw glimpses into vulnerable moments. Albeit, Lance into Keith more so than Keith into Lance. Keith was probably not too happy about Lance being a criminal on top of a stranger. Lance wanted to know more about Keith, mysterious cop Keith. What his childhood was like, what his job was like. Did he prefer orange juice with or without pulp? What was his favorite show? What was his greatest fear? These were questions he would have to wait for a relationship to develop before knowing the answer. Lance was comfortable springing into it right away but that didn't mean Keith was. He respected Keith's boundaries, but would let Keith know that he was there is he needed him. Tomorrow.

Lance had brought some toiletries and did his usual night routine. At one point Keith had interrupted to use the bathroom.

"Did you take your meds?" Keith asked; Lance almost couldn't understand him because his voice was low and he slurred hardcore. Lance swore and then ran to take them while Keith used the bathroom. He thanked Keith as he passed him in the hall, and reentered the bathroom to finish his routine.

Typically when he went to bed, it took him a while even with meds to sleep. But this was the first time in months that he had gone to sleep almost immediately.

Keith was gone when Lance woke up. Lance figured when he looked at the clock bedside his bed, and confirmed when he saw the note Keith left.

Went into work,

back after 1,

Let me know if there is anything you want to do.

Keith.

He left his phone number and work email. Lance emailed Keith asking if they could go to his parent's house to collect the rest of his things. Keith got back to him an hour later, and said they could. Lance sat and searched for more jobs. He did not expect much. He wasn't able to go to post-secondary because of wanting his younger siblings to have the money. They deserved it more than he did. He had to work in high school to help his parents pay for things. He lied to them when he got into crime, lied about his position in the two jobs he held previously. Now some of his siblings were in university and college; he had been sending a bit of money to his parents to help. Lance figured he could get an entry level job; there were programs for criminals to get work.

Lance was woken up by Cosmo barking. He looked around the room to see what time it was, and surely enough it was 1:15PM. He had fallen asleep on his bed while looking at jobs. Lance was stretching out his sore muscles - he hated sleeping in weird positions - when Keith knocked on the door.

"Ready to go?" He called. Lance called back that he needed a minute. When he opened the door, he was met with Keith dressed in his uniform.

"Uhhhh Keith?"

Keith looked up from his cellphone while also petting Cosmo.

"Yeah?"

Lance gestured to his outfit. Keith looked down at it, searching for something, then looked to Lance for meaning. Lance nearly facepalmed himself.

"I don't think my parents would like me showing up with a cop…" Lance slowly said, hoping Keith understood why.

"Right…" Keith awkwardly said before fast walking to get changed. When he emerged, he was in a nice red button up and beige khaki pants. Keith looked to Lance expectantly and then the pair headed out to the car without another word.

Lance had messaged his mom regarding to his visit, and her message gave no hints as to how she felt towards him. Lance hoped that they didn't hate him. He didn't want Keith to see that side of him yet.

Lance directed Keith to the neighborhood. Keith noted that while it was a nice one by the looks, he remembered it being an area of cheap homes. Keith drove into the driveway as directed. The house was in a cul-de-sac of the area, and this one in particular looked like shit. The paint was peeling, there were obvious patches in the roof, there were more places that needed patching. He saw tarp over a window.

"What did you want me to do?" Keith asked flatly.

"I have a few bags, do mind carrying some?" Lance requested sheepishly. Keith nodded and got out of the car. He let Lance lead him to the door. Keith was uncomfortable meeting Lance's parents like this, but he knew that Lance probably wasn't thrilled either.

The doorbell rang a few times before a Spanish woman in her 60's answered. Her tired expression lit up upon seeing Lance, but there was a hint of sadness in the expression. She called out in a language Keith did not know and then invited them into the house in English. Keith awkwardly followed Lance into the place he grew up, into his home. Keith tried to come off as neutrally as possible. There was a stampede of feet coming down the hallway and Lance was suddenly tackled by a herd of children, varying in age. It was when Lance was on the ground that Keith was addressed.

"Lance, who have you brought here? It better not be one of your, um… business transaction partners…." There was a hint of warning in her thickly accented voice. She looked Keith up and down, in search of something but Keith didn't know what.

"Lance, is that your boyfriiiiiiiiend?" One of the small humans on top of Lance teased. Keith shifted in his spot, took a deep breath.

"That's Keith, my new roommate."

Lance's mother's eyes raised at their relationship.

"What kind of work do you Keith? How did Lance find you?"

Keith looked at Lance for guidance, but he was still trying to break free of his siblings.

"Lance? Did you want to, um…" Keith swallowed. "Tell them?"

They didn't get the chance, as a man came around the corner. He did NOT look impressed or friendly.

"Lance!" he bellowed and stomped over to be beside Lance's mom. He stared Keith down and Keith met his gaze but at a lower intensity. He spoke Spanish after breaking the eye contact, and Lance and some family members all started to as well. Lance broke free during this conversation. The mood intensified as Lance and the man increased in ferocity. The woman got the kids to go do something and engaged in the fight. They trio switched between Spanish and English. Keith grasped the basic messages; the father did not want Lance in the house, didn't think he deserved his stuff back, and was threatening to call the police if he tries anything. His mother was defending him. Lance was shaking visibly but stood his ground. Eventually, with a huff, the father stormed out.

"Go grab your stuff quickly and say bye to your siblings. I will talk with him later about you visiting."

Lance thanked his mother and motioned for Keith to follow him.

Lance's room was not his. Half of the room was clean and packed up, four bags in total looking full. The rest of the room looked like a war zone. Lance ordered Keith to grab two bags and wait for him in the car. Keith did so. He grabbed what looked like the two heavier ones, and made his way back to his car. He sat and waited in the driver's seat. His phone buzzed.

Shiro: Hey, how's the moving going?

Keith: Good. Getting Lance's stuff. Did you find any volunteer opportunities yet?

Shiro had took on the responsibility of finding Lance a community service position so he could complete his sentence. Shiro felt bad for Lance and wanted to help; he understood Keith taking him in, even if it was a bit weird.

Shiro: I asked Allura and there is one at the precinct. Being someone's assistant. If not, there is garbage pickup.

Lance entered the car, throwing two bags in the back. He slammed into the passenger seat, sloppily put on the seatbelt, and looked down at his knees. Keith could see the tear streaks still fresh. Lance wa aiming his face away from Keith.

"Got everything?" Keith asked neutrally.

"Just. Drive." Lance said hoarsely. And Keith did.

He decided not to bring up the red handprint on the Latino's cheek.


	4. The Wound

Three weeks had passed and Keith did not bring up what had happened. If Lance wanted to talk about it, he figured Lance would talk to him. Keith wanted to know but also was wary about personal emotional space. As a cop, he wanted to know if the home was safe for the minors still living there, and he wanted to get a warrant to get the Social Workers and other government workers to investigate. For some reason, he chickened out every time. He wasn't sure how to go about the whole situation so he just didn't. The longer he waited, the more guilty and torn up about the issue he would get. He hadn't told anyone at work about it. Shiro asked how the move went and Keith told him most of it in vague details. Shiro asked if Lance was adjusting well, and Keith had answered that he wasn't sure. Lance kept to himself mostly. Keith only saw him during mealtimes, or when he came home and Lance was making supper. There were a few days where Keith would come back at odd times and Lance would be up, making food. Or there would be a note that Lance had made food for Keith and it was in the fridge.

Keith would trudge to the food, grateful for Lance's kindness. Typically on nights like this, Keith would skip meals, or pop in a multivitamin and call it enough before collapsing in bed. Lance woke him up every time. Keith wasn't sure if it was intentional, but Lance let him sleep a good eight hours. The other instances Keith would see Lance was when it was pill time. When Keith wasn't home for that, Lance would message Keith with evidence of taking it. They had a weird relationship by three weeks of living together.

Keith had the day off. Some days he wouldn't know what to do with himself and end up just sitting in bed most of the day. Some days he would feel motivated to do things - wash dishes, wash clothes, clean the apartment, go to the gym. Sometimes he spent the whole day reading or watching television shows. This particular day, he was cuddled up with Cosmo, reading a book. Keith was an avid reader, loved anything from science fiction to fantasy. He hated books where romance was the plot, or overshadowed other genres. He especially liked dystopian and alien worlds; would often visualize himself as the main character exploring this foreign area. Keith's current read fell into the science-fiction-alien type of books. Just as he finished another chapter, without a cliffhanger, he had a soft knock on the door. Keith threw a shirt on and called for Lance to enter. The Latino cautiously poked his head in and from where Keith was, his eyes closed.

"Are you decent?"

Keith noded, realized his mistake, then told Lance he was. Lance looked sheepishly at anything except Keith. He was twiddling his thumbs.

"So…" Lance sighed "I have an interview finally but I do not have any fancier clothes to wear. Is there a chance I could borrow some from you?"

Keith smirked.

"You sure you would fit?" Keith asked, crossing his arms over his chest in amusement. Lance was really nervous about borrowing clothes from him and Keith found that funny. Lance was caught off by Keith's response. Whatever he was expecting Keith to say, it wasn't that.

"Oh, um, I think it might be-" Lance paused to look over Keith. Keith started to feel weird, like he was under a microscope. "-a bit loose on me. Because you are, um…" Lance's voice hitched.

"I'm….?" Keith inquired, holding back a smirk.

"Muscular. Fit. Bigger than I am." Lance finished. Keith gestured to his closet.

"All my fancier stuff is in there. Do not grab a cop uniform, but the rest is up for grabs."

Lance gasped at Keith's closet. Keith had spent his first few paychecks from the precinct treating himself to some fancier clothes. He went to the occasional (mandatory) banquets with the precinct and didn't want to arrive in his work uniform. Lance sifted through the closet as Keith kept reading. He grabbed a few shirts, left. Keith was surprised to see him come back into the room with one of his shirts on. It was a button up, collared, long sleeve royal blue one. It was slightly too big for Lance, but the Latino tucked it into the khaki pants he had on. He spun in a circle slowly in Keith's periphery, his eyes on his book. Lance cleared his throat and Keith kept his eyes on the book.

"Well?" Lance asked.

"Well..?" Keith deadpanned, still reading.

"How does it look?" Lance was biting his lip. Keith put the book down. So now he is giving fashion advice… He told Lance that it looked good. It was professional. The only thing wrong was Lance's mop of hair on the top of his head. He was obviously saving it for last. Lance thanked Keith briskly and exited.

"Where is your interview at?" Keith called.

"It's at a coffee shop down the street," Lance called back, from the bathroom Keith figured.

"Any others?"

"Yeah, I have one after this one for a secretary at the local hospital."

Keith thought those were good jobs.

"Oh and Keith?" Lance said. He was standing at the door. His hair was brushed and slicked back. Keith tried his best to ignore his new tent.

"Yeah?"

"I, uh, won't be back until late tonight, so don't wait up or make food for me."

Keith nodded and Lance left.

"GOOD LUCK!" Keith yelled as he heard Lance grabbing his key, his voice cracking noticeably enough for Keith to blush. Keith went back to reading his book and eventually fell asleep. He woke up in time to get himself supper and do his nightly routine, and was asleep when Lance got home that night.

Lance crept into the apartment as quietly as possible. Kosmo was luckily too asleep to bark at him, and Keith was in a similar state. Usually Keith closed his door, but Lance figured he was too tired today. He went over to close it, when he remembered that he hadn't returned the shirts. Lance was too tired to recognize this as possibly a bad idea. He stealthily was able to enter the room without making a sound. He agonizingly slowly opened the closet door, placed delicately the clothes in, and closed the door again. In the silenced that followed, he caught onto something. Whimpers. It wasn't Kosmo because he was in the living room. He turned to look at his roommate to find him shaking, crying, and whimpering. He was under a large amount of blankets. Lance left the room briefly to change. Keith hadn't improved by the time he was back. Lance had to make a decision. Either wake Keith up, and risk Keith wondering why he was getting in this late. Lance could try to calm him down himself. Or he could leave. He was NOT doing the last one.

Keith was on side side, his back currently to Lance. Lance carefully crawled into the bed with Keith, inched closer and closer. He daintily wrapped Keith in an embrace, aware of the pressure building in his shorts, and gently pulled the two boys closer. Keith, in his unconscious and nightmare-ridden state, must have sensed the comfort being offered. He nuzzled into the other boy, wrapping himself in him. Lance tried to focus on sleeping, as it was almost 4 in the morning, but because he hadn't taken his meds (he couldn't, not with the activity he was just doing out of the apartment), his brain would not let him sleep despite being tired. He just observed the sleeping boy in his arms, who seemed to be calming down. His breathing was back to normal, he wasn't shaking as vigorously. Lance rubbed the shirtless cop's back in a soothing gesture and he could tell Keith enjoyed it at some level. Lance eventually fell asleep too.

Despite falling asleep later, Lance was also the first awake. Keith was still sound asleep in his embrace, looking relaxed. Lance stole this moment with Keith, knowing that it would be rare. Keith didn't know Lance very well and Lance didn't know Keith well either. Lance had feelings for Keith; he suspected the cop could never fall for someone like Lance. He was a criminal. He did horrible things to people, stole from them. Granted it was to survive, he still felt bad about it.

Lance went to move out of bed but as he pulled away, the cuddly cop sensed the motion and pulled him back in. Lance didn't mind. Keith nuzzled himself into Lance's chest, getting close enough to become one being. Keith was muttering something in his sleep, something inaudible at first.

"Mmmm." Keith moaned "Laaaaance…."

Chills went down the Latino's back at the sound of Keith moaning his name. He couldn't help the other feelings he was getting. Keith kept mumbling inaudible sleep-talk nonsense but Lance didn't mind. He wasn't sure whether or not he wanted to know exactly what Keith was dreaming about. Lance decided to rub the cop's back some more, just like he had done earlier. Keith seemed to melt into Lance's touch. It took Lance longer than it should have to notice the slight changes in Keith. It wasn't until Keith reached up and rubbed his eyes that Lance, terrifyingly so, realized Keith was waking up. But Keith was so into the feeling that Lance couldn't stop. Keith's eyes fluttered open below Lance. Realization dawned on the groggy cop and Lance saw it in his eyes. They widened quickly. The cop shoved Lance away, breaking their contact. He clumsily detangled from Lance.

"What the hell man?!" Keith exclaimed. He was breathing heavily and his hand was shaking slightly.

"You were having a nightmare and I comforted you. I wanted to leave but someone who was asleep decided to cling onto me for dear life and I couldn't move," Lance explained, looking pointedly at Keith. Keith huffed, crossed his arms, and turned away from Lance. Not fast enough for the tears to evade Lance's perception. "I'm sorry Keith, if I had known that you weren't cool with it I wouldn't have done it. I just thought you needed some help and someone to bring you down from your nightmare."

"It's not your place to do that," Keith said through gritted teeth, choking back a sob. Shit, he is really upset about this, Lance thought. He got off of the offensive and defensive.

"Did you want me to make you some food? I know you have to get ready for work," Lance lightly asked, getting out of Keith's bed. What was a comfortable paradice during the night now felt like he was laying on a cold clammy cave floor. He approached Keith but kept him at a comfortable distance. Lance tried to meet Keith's eyes and face but the cop just turned away from him, his hand now squeezing his own face.

"Just get out," Keith growled. Lance dejectedly left the bedroom.

Everyone at the office felt that Keith wasn't in a good mood. They knew not to ask about it; it wasn't their business and the workplace was not a place to bare one's soul to coworkers. Shiro, however, did inform Keith he was open for ranting. Keith knew that Shiro would be checking up on him after work and preferred that he talk in the comfort of his apartment rather than the workplace. Sure, Lance was there. Sure, they would be talking about Lance and some deep secrets Keith had that Shiro had found out. Lance also stayed in his room most of the time and if the two cops talked quietly, Lance would not hear a peep. Keith wasn't too worried about Lance overhearing anything

However, as fate would have it, Allura had a mission for Shiro and Keith. They were to go stake out a warehouse where some activity has been suspected regarding drug deals. It was not high stakes, but the area has had a problem with low-level drug dealers. Shiro and Keith would be spending the next few hours alone in a car together. They decked out in their pedestrian clothes, deciding to look like as casual as possible. Keith hid his gun under his jean jacket, Shiro in his leather jacket. They set out as soon as their tech was good.

As soon as they parked, Shiro looked at Keith in a way Keith knew what was to come from the older cop's mouth.

"So… You have been acting differently in the office today. Did something happen between you and Lance?" Shiro gently asked. He assured Keith that if he really didn't want to talk about it, that was ok. Keith trusted Shiro; they were friends, after all. Keith took a shaky, deep breath before beginning to speak. He told Shiro about how Lance has witnessed his night terrors. How Keith was not in the mood for explaining to Lance what was happening. What he did, and said, to Lance. Keith knew Lance was trying to help but Lance barely knew Keith. Keith kinda knew Lance. They had known each other for a few months, spending time together, kind of, in the past three weeks. Keith finished storytelling, and started telling Shiro about what he was feeling. Keith did not want to go too in depth with it, but he told Shiro that he felt something for Lance. Lance was kind. He seemed to care for Keith genuinely. And he was grateful for Keith taking him in. There was something about Lance that, Keith couldn't quite put his finger on it, made Keith like him. He had been closed off to the Latino boy, mostly because these feelings he has been fighting against.

Eventually Shiro asked how Keith felt about his relationship development with Lance. Keith debated telling Shiro about how they first met. Would Shiro judge him? Would he think of Keith differently? Then again, it was Shiro. Keith, shaking slightly, told SHiro the story of how he met Lance originally.

"And you didn't recognize him?" Shiro asked, curious.

"I kind of blocked that night out from my memory," Keith deadpanned. Shiro chuckled.

"Yeah, that makes sense." He looked warmly at Keith and the younger cop knew there was no judgement behind those eyes. Shiro suddenly pointed; Keith followed his gaze and saw that there was movement in the warehouse they were stalking. A skinny white boy dressed in name-brand clothes, followed by two more of similar stature and tone, entered the building nonchalantly. Shiro gestured for the two to tail this group of people. Keith grabbed his taser and his gun.

Lance was feeling like shit after the interaction with Keith. He was curious as to what was causing Keith pain, why he reacted to intimacy (roommate, friendship, or otherwise) the way he did. He wanted to know more, everything about Keith left Lance wanting to know more. Mostly to understand and help. Keith seemed to not want help and that was something that Lance hated.

Lance had always been one to want to help people. It's why he started stealing in the first place. After graduating high school, his parents could not afford to send him to post-secondary; they barely were able to keep food on his siblings and his own plates, and a roof over their heads. So Lance worked two jobs. Even then, they were barely scraping by. He knew that his younger siblings all wanted to go to post secondary, and he wanted them to be able to. Being a racial minority meant a disadvantage already; he didn't want them to start racking up debt as soon as they hit adulthood. He wanted them to have it better than his family did growing up. He knew it wasn't his parents' fault but Lance still blamed them a little. His two jobs on top of what his parents made was enough to support his family and his sibling's educations. So Lance got another, more illegal job. He wasn't proud of it, but Lance was experienced enough for it. His employer set him up and after a few shifts, Lance was making more money per shift than his two other jobs combined. It was there, in the moonlight after his seventh client, that he stole for the first time. His client was asleep in his bed, and Lance couldn't sleep. He wondered the house - mansion, rather - in search of something. He didn't quite know what. The client was alone in the house that night so Lance's only risk to being caught was the client. He found a spare room that sparkled in the moonlight with its many riches. A lavish four hollister bed with silk sheets was in the middle of the trove, a boudoir filled with with what seemed like every precious stone in existence. Lance thought about how much each piece of jewelry would be worth. He thought about how his family needed the money and about the amount of jewelry in the room, in the mansion. Surely, a necklace or a few couldn't hurt? So he pocketed it and left.

As the months went on after, he started figuring out more ways to steal. He felt bad about stealing from clients, people already paying him. He decided to steal from the friends of his rich clients, especially if he knew they were mean and nasty. They could afford it. Lance invested in a dart gun. He practiced. He was naturally dexterous so it didn't take long for him to learn how to shoot and hit his target. He began using his own sleep medication in low doses to knock out his victims.

His parents thought that his two illegal means of making money were a job at a hotel half an hour from where they lived, the night shift. The hotel was a perfect cover because it was fancy enough for the amount of money he was telling his parents he earned to be believable.

Helping his parents to pay for things was easy. He could earn money and it was fixable through material means. Lance had no clue how to help Keith. There was obviously some inner turmoil within the cop. Something that made him not want relationship. Something preventing him from participating in intimate activities. Keith wanted to do it, as Lance recalled. Something just came over him. He didn't know how to help that.

When Keith left for work, Lance felt horrible about what had happened. Again, he wanted to help Keith. Not to necessarily fulfill his own personal desires, or to gain any benefits. He liked helping people. It gave him a sense of duty. That he was worthy of being a human. So knowing that he had failed made Lance feel horrible.

He had gone back to bed, exhausted emotionally, after the whole ordeal, and fell back asleep. He was woken up by a phone call offering him a job interview. Lance put on his Happy Voice and set up a date and time. That was three jobs that he had prospects for. He looked at the outfit hanging in his closet. He figured he had enough money from his last few criminal endeavours to buy an outfit but he had other ways to spend his time. Reminiscing about why he got into crime made him realize just how much money he had and would be making once he got any of the jobs. He sat on his computer and looked into requirements for post-secondary education. It would have to be online, since he couldn't walk to the closest campus easily and asking Keith to drive him would be too much of an ask. After a few hours of research and the occasional snack break, Lance found a program that appealed to him that could be online. At least until he could save up enough money to get a car.

It was getting to be pretty late in the afternoon. Despite the snack breaks, Lance was starting to get hungry for supper and knew Keith could be home any minute from work. He lazily sauntered into their kitchen to see what he could scrounge together to make something edible and pleasing. He figured Keith had gone to a local food market lately - he liked buying local - and upon seeing fresh vegetables lit up. Lance decided homemade soup would be good. Once he cleaned the kitchen.

He barely heard the door open over the music and the bubbling water. Keith's slow, heavy footsteps were inaudible amongst the other noises in the apartment. Keith tried to calm his breathing so he could talk but it took longer than he expected.

"Laaance," he croaked before collapsing onto the floor in front of the television. He groaned loudly and apparently made some indication of his presence.

"Keith, is that you?" Lance called from the kitchen. He had been stirring the soup and dancing along to the music. He lowered the volume of the music to hear Keith's response.

"Yep… Laaance… Help," a strangled and raspy croak came from the living room. Lance barely turned off the stove as he rushed into the next room. There laid Keith on the floor, on his stomach, trying to roll over.

"What are you doing? What's wrong?" Lance quickly said. He knelt down and helped Keith roll over, unable to keep the gasp and shock on his face hidden.

Keith was pale. His face was damp and he wasn't looking Lance in the eyes. He was in his cop uniform but the nice light blue was stained red. His pants too. Lance grabbed a pillow from the couch, gently lifted Keith's head, and set the pillow under. Keith tried to talk but he was croaking and Lance couldn't understand him. The wounds bleeding spots didn't look like they were in a place that signified vital organs being damaged. There was one place on his left thigh, one on his lower abdomen and one on his shoulder. Lance cursed. What do you do for wounds? Lance questioned, panicked. He took first aid for his job and he vaguely remembered to apply pressure in the state of mind he was in. Lance did not want to screw up though.

"Drug bust…" Keith huffed. "Went bad… Stabbed.. Shot…."

Lance asked what to do and followed Keith's slow instructions. He grabbed the first aid kit Keith told him about and started bandaging up the wounds. Obvious Keith needed to go to the hospital. Which made Lance suddenly realize...

"Keith, why didn't you go to the hospital?!" He demanded while slowing down the blood flow to Keith's leg wound. Keith was shaking now, and his eyes were closed. Lance saw the tears that weren't there a second ago.

"...Home was closer. I had to run away."

Lance bandaged the wound in his abdomen with painful help from his patient. Keith requested to be moved to the couch at one point which took way too long. Once Keith was settled and relatively stable, Lance started to pace; he wasn't sure what to do.

"I really don't know what to do I mean… I figured you know, you're a cop and that maybe one day you would come back with a bullet wound but I figured that it would be closed up that you would have gone to the hospital and I would have to come get you and then you would have this cool scar, but here you are and you're bleeding with not just one but THREE different wounds and like I have first aid training but I just am blanking on what to do, I've never really had to use it before, I never pictured myself dealing with something like this and I guess the sight of blood shouldn't freak me out as much as it is right now, like I feel like if you were a complete stranger I would be able to think straight but since it is you and I know you, well kinda, and you are hurt and I care about you that I can't get past that and it's just freaking me out that you got shot and are here and wounded and unable to move..." He stopped rambling and took a breath. "Should we call the cops?"

"Lance, I AM the cops" Keith managed to get out through gritted teeth. Lance huffed and stopped abruptly, crossing his arms. He gave an annoyed and defeated look to his roommate, his foot tapping the ground aggressively.

"You know what I mean. An ambulance or something because I don't know how to drive."

Keith closed his eyes and was breathing tightly. Lance snapped at him to keep his eyes open, apologizing immediately afterward. They both jumped, Keith moaning in pain, when the cop's cell phone starting loudly buzzing. Keith weakly handed it to Lance; the screen said "Cop Dad" on it which confused Lance.

"Uh.. Hello?" Lance answered, continuing his pacing.

"Hey… Is Keith there? Who is this?" The deep voice that came through sounded out of breath. It took Lance a minute to recognize Shiro's voice.

"It's Lance, Keith's roommate. I'm with Keith right now."

A sigh of relief was heard through the phone. "Good.. Well, not good but now I know where he is. I'm coming to pick him up and bring him to the hospital."

Lance looked at Keith to see if there was any sign that he heard that. He put his hand over the microphone to tell Keith he would be right back, then moved into his own room. Once he was sure Keith was out of earshot, he continued talking to the person on the phone. Whispering, Lance told him about how his roommate seemed resistant to going to the hospital. Shiro reassured Lance, saying that Keith needed to go despite his own personal decision. Lance didn't say anything and Shiro said that he was on his way anyway. Shiro told Lance to keep Keith alert and awake and he would drive him to the local hospital. Lance agreed and returned to his roommate.

"Hey Keith," Lance said softly. He knelt down next to the couch the wounded boy was lounging on. If someone more aware than Keith was observing the scene they would notice Lance relaxing when Keith's eyes opened groggily; his muscles released some tension from them, his face softened. Keith had tears in his eyes. The rise and fall of his chest was slow and deep. Lance quickly ran and grabbed a few towels because the blood was now seeping beyond what the bandages could handle.

"What's five plus two?" Lance asked.

"Why the hell…?" Keith breathed, confused.

"I'm trying to keep you awake and alert. Answer please" Lance's voice trembled.

"Seven. Lance, please don't make me do math I am in enough pain."

Lance laughed but there was a sadness or worry to it.

"Alright then, I need you to keep talking. Tell me a story?"

Keith closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He decided to tell Lance about police training because it was the first thing that came to mind. He told him about how young he was. How he was, not to brag, top of his class. The vigorous physical training going into it. Keith eventually got lost in the storytelling, eventually telling Lance about his first and only relationship. Lance was interested at this, mostly due to his first interaction with the cop. Keith's relationship did not sound abusive or like it ended badly so the cause of his contact anxiousness must be coming from a different source. Keith talked fondly, even in his current state, of that relationship that it made Lance think about what it would be like to have that fondness directed at him. He began getting so lost in thought and daydreaming that he jumped upon the door to their apartment slamming open.

The next few minutes were a blur. Shiro and another guy entered. Shiro carefully scooped Keith up into his arms while the other guy waited to help. Lance was ordered to follow Shiro which he barely heard before the other guy was pulling him gently along. Shiro had brought a cop car. Lance was guided to the passenger seat up front while Keith and the Stranger were in the back. Shiro hopped into the driver's seat. The sirens were loud. The stranger was saying assurances to Keith. Keith was woozily singing along to the music. His eyes were closed but he was singing. Despite being off key and most of the words were wrong it was beautiful; it was the sound reminding Lance that Keith was well enough to sing. When they got to the hospital, there were people in scrubs waiting with a gurney. Keith was placed on it; at the same time, Lance ripped away from the car seat. Keith was rushed in. Lance ran after. But he barely got to the door before he was pulled back by an arm. A very calm voice suggested they go for a short walk outside first, saying Keith was in good hands. But that wasn't enough. Lance had to be sure. Keith was so kind, he didn't deserve this. He was also strong. Lance's mind was spinning with thoughts until the world seemed to spin. The voice suggested more firmly that they should go get some fresh air but it was as if Lance was under water. The bright building that was the hospital was suddenly too bright. It grew and grew.

"Lance!" Shiro exclaiming was the last thing the Latino heard.

 **A/N:** **HUGE thanks to Shiranai Atsune for suggesting this. I had fun writing it, trying to figure out how it would go down. Hope you enjoyed it. Don't know how long this will be...**  
 **Let me know how you feel about it in the comments :)**


	5. The Contact

**A/N: Please note that I do not have ay medical experience** **whatsoever**

Keith woke up to a beeping noise that was almost as annoying as the pounding in his head. He attempted opening his eyes but that task was too hard for him for a few minutes. He must have moved or made a noise that he didn't recall because someone said his name. He knew the voice but the person wasn't coming up in his brain. Keith tried really hard to open his eyes and was successful the third time around. First thing he realized was that he was in a hospital room. Second was that Shiro was sitting on the bed he was on and was now stroking his arm in a comforting gesture. Shiro's significant other, Curtis, was in the room too, sitting on the wheelie car that the rom had. On the couch near him was Lance; sleeping probably. Keith mades sounds with his mouth that form words Shiro could understand. Shiro explained what happened; Keith remembers the drug bust gone wrong, heading to the apartment. Shiro mentions something about "Lance" and "faint". He paused before going on, saying something about morphine. Keith was apparently on it. Morphine? Is Keith going to morph into something? He giggled at the thought of turning into a dog. Shiro inquired but Keith just calmed down. He rolled his head to look at his roommate.

"I wanna make Lance a card," Keith slurred. Shiro smiled warmly, patting his arm.

"Maybe do that when your coordination is better," Shiro suggested.

"It's fine!" Keith exclaimed. Shiro told him to lift his arm to prove it. Keith looked at the arms, in which he could feel, but they were like lead. No matter how much focus and brain energy he put towards it, Keith couldn't do the task. Keith sighed defeatedly and went back to staring at Lance. Shiro noticed, obviously, where the younger cop's gaze was.

"Shiro?" The older cop hummed "Do you think Lance is pretty?"

"Um, what?" Shiro giggled, not expecting THAT to come out of Keith's mouth.

"He is pretty! And smart, and brave…. I just don't know why I don't try to figure out my feelings for him."

If Keith was not on all the medicines he was on, he would have seen the Latino boy in question smiling slightly with a tear running down his face.

"You have feelings for him?" Shiro asked.

"Yeah… But I guess I am damaged goods. I can't give him what he wants," Keith tore his eyes away from Lance and closed them.

"Keith, there is more to a relationship than physical intimacy. It is okay to be scared to participate in it if it is unexplored territory for you. Lance would understand."

"I haven't felt this way since Travis… But it is different too. More intense, more right. But I barely know him."

"Well," Curtis interjected. "You have known him for a few months. That's more than Shiro and I before we started dating. We talked for a month over an app and then met up. The rest is history."

Curtis gave Shiro a kiss on the cheek. Keith looked away, noticing the clean bandages.

"I was shot?!" Keith exclaimed. Shiro chuckled softly then asked what he remembered. Keith stuck his tongue out.

"My tongue ith futhy" He said, tongue out. Shiro chuckled softly. So did Lance. Keith, despite his state, noticed that. Keith exclaimed his name. Lance moved, wanting to get up, to which Curtis approached to help Lance orientate himself. Curtis assisted Lance with getting up and replacing Shiro's spot on the bed. Curtis and Shiro moved to the couch Lance was previously on. Lance locked his gaze with Keith's drifting focused eyes.

From the short amount of time Lance had seen and heard Keith in this kind of state. Not to mention how he was talking about Lance. The Latino hoped that Keith too under the influence of meds to notice the blush and giddiness that Lance thought was obvious. Did Keith really like him or was it the morphine? The shock of getting shot? Lance didn't want to heighten his expectations only to be torn down. He looked Keith over and felt bad for him. Keith's eyes were glazed over with tiredness despite just being roused from unconsciousness. He could barely move and speak. Keith's walls seemed to be coming down, but Lance didn't like it. Because it wasn't Keith's choice; he wanted Keith to open up to him like this on his own terms, not because a medicine/drug was the culprit. Lance asked in a soft, tired voice if there was anything Keith wanted that he could get. Keith requested water, food, and a nap. Curtis volunteered to go get a nurse to help, Shiro leaving to go to the bathroom. Leaving the two boys alone. After they were gone, Lance looked around the room, trying to keep himself together.

"Lanthe?" Keith quietly said. Lance looked at him and nodded. "I don't like it here."

He noticed the quiver in Keith's lisping voice now and it hurt Lance's heart.

"Why not?" Lance asked.

"I just don't… I want out but I know I need to stay… and if you want to go home I would understand."

"Did you want me to stay here?" Lance asked. Keith looked at him with a child-like fear, as if Lance leaving meant death and to have the option of staying was life-saving. He eventually nodded slowly. Keith tried to adjust himself but was too weak to do it. Lance offered assistance. Keith was in a sitting position when a doctor and nurse came in with Curtis. The nametags read "Acxa, Ph. D." and " Ezor, LPN". Dr. Acxa was a tall woman, lean, more muscle than cellulite. She obviously worked out in her spare time. She had a resting face that made her seem unfriendly. The nurse looked quite young, as if she just came out of med school. The first thing Lance noticed was her long, multi-colored hair. Her demeanor was more welcoming, as she greeted the group with a smile and inviting eyes. The nurse gave Keith a cup of water; Keith chugged the whole thing in seconds. Then he was given a bright red cherry popsicle. The group left the room, closing the blinds and shutting off the lights and then closed the door. The two medical professionals led the group, upon Shiro's return, to a private room to talk. There were two chairs and a couch, a table separating the two. The Doctor opened up a file folder, took the group in and began talking.

"Mr. Kogane, as you all probably know, was shot twice and stabbed. He had large amount of blood loss which we had to give him some donated blood. He needed surgery to remove the bullets and then stitches. The wounds were small. We performed these as it was an emergency situation. According to Kogane's medical file he does not have any next of Kin documented. Officer Shirogane here," Dr. Acxa gestured to Shiro with her pen, "informed us of the patient's relationship status with you all as well as a few others mentioned here."

Dr. Acxa turned to Lance.

"You are the patient's roommate but not blood relation. Are you willing to take liability on Mr. Kogane's behalf?"

Lance felt like a spotlight was put on him. "Ummm…. Until Keith can consent to it, I guess?"

Lance signed a few waivers. They moved on to explain the next steps. Keith will stay until he does not need morphine. Walking will be too much of a strain so he will use a wheelchair until cleared for walking. The Doctor prescribed some medication for pain and other things, giving that to Lance. Keith must be cleared medically before going back to working in the field.

Keith was awake when Lance returned from his trip to their apartment. Shiro and Curtis offered the rides, and they said Hunk would stay at their place to look after Kosmo. Lance grabbed clothes, hygiene stuff, and a few other things that he figured Keith would want or need. They had moved Keith in a room with a second bed for Lance to sleep on. Nurse Ezor from earlier was checking up on Keith's stats upon Lance's entry. She smiled at Lance. Keith was pale as a ghost and sitting perfectly still other than the tremble of his hands that he tried to hide by holding them together. Keith seemed to be more himself now, still drugged but Lance could sense he wasn't as bubbly as when Lance left. The nurse informed Keith that he had to lie down in order to change his bandages and check out the stitches. Keith just stared at the wall ahead of him. The nurse repeated but Keith wouldn't budge.

"Keith, this nurse wants to help," Lance said soothingly. Keith was tensed up. His knuckles were white.

"Did you want me to hold your hand?" Lance asked without judgement or belittling Keith's feelings. Keith noded tightly. A few tears escaped. Lance assisted the nurse with positioning Keith. He had the blanket basically up under his armpits. Ezor folded the blanket to expose the hospital gown Keith had on. She started unlacing Keith's gown. Keith's eyes were squeezed closed but that didn't stop tears from escaping. He started hyperventilating. Ezor stopped, waiting for something, a look of worry on her face. Almost as if she thought she did something wrong. Lance was sitting on the bed; he grabbed Keith's hand, giving it a reaffirming squeeze. His breathing slowed.

"You're wearing underwear, right?" Lance asked. He suddenly remembered that Keith was shot in the leg too, specifically the thigh. Keith nodded. Lance turned to the nurse.

"I think I know what might help, if you don't mind pausing."

Ezor nodded. Lance turned back to petrified Keith. He asked gently what about the situation was causing Keith distress. Keith, in bullet point fashion through speech, said being exposed, being in the hospital, and having to be cared for were all things that he felt discomfort with. Lance briefly let go of Keith's hand, told the nurse not to freak out. He took off his shirt, then his shoes, socks, and pants. He rejoined Keith on the bed.

"There. We will be equally exposed."

Keith didn't mind the view. Seeing Lance like this reminded him of his crush on the Latino which made him blush. The culprit of the blush seemed to notice what he had done even if he didn't connect the two. Keith felt better about being exposed to Lance; besides, he had seen it before. When they met, Keith had kept his pants on though. He nodded at the nurse to continue. At every touch he whimpered. Ezor tended to his leg wound first, cleaning the area and replacing the bandage. Keith broke inside and couldn't hold back vocalizations. He squeezed Lance's hand as hard as he could. The nurse moved on to the next wound, and the process happened again. When finished, Keith was a shaking, crying mess. His hospital gown was returned and the nurse left.

"May I, uh, help? What do you need?"

Lance barely heard his request. He barely processed it.

"Hold me."

Keith was so distraught and wanted Lance to help. Lance adjusted the bed to a loose sitting position. He crawled in on Keith's good side, opening up for an embrace. Keith snuggled in, the blanket also returned. The two were fast asleep in each other's embrace when Pidge and Allura came to visit.

Lance stayed with Keith for the two weeks he was kept in hospital. The two boys did not mention what Keith said when he was on morphine; Lance didn't bring it up in case Keith didn't remember it, and Keith was too embarrassed to bring it up. The closest they came was when they would steal glances at the other boy when he wasn't looking. Keith was reserved as usual once off of the morphine. The two boys had been bonding when Lance was off of work. Lance helped Keith take care of himself when Nurse Ezor was unavailable, apart from bathing. Lance was surprised when Keith got him to help him change for the first time. Keith was shaking the whole time, said nothing. Lance kept his expression neutral, his eyes not wandering. Keith would always quietly mutter a phrase of gratitude. Sometimes the pain Keith had would be so much post-morphine that it wrenched Lance's heart, and all he could to to help was hold him while he cried. He felt guilty for seeing Keith so vulnerable. Lance had comfort in that Keith wanted him there because when he told Keith he could leave if the cop wanted, Keith ordered him not to. His want for Lance to help him was more due to him being familiar with Lance than his attraction toward him. Keith hated being cared for by strangers.

He sat pondering their relationship - he didn't have much better to do when Lance was gone - while Ezor was changing his bandages. She was pleasant towards Keith, humming to herself as she worked. She told Keith on this day that the stitches could come out and they could schedule something for the afternoon. The nurses figured out pretty early that the best way to handle Keith was to "schedule" when he had to go through medical stuff. And that way, he could get a friend, typically Shiro or Lance, to be there. They set the time to be after Lance gets off of work at a local coffee shop. Ezor kept accidentally referring to Lance as his boyfriend which did not help Keith's thoughts about Lance. Lance was becoming something that Keith couldn't quite put a finger on. He knew that there was not exactly a friendship but also not a romantic relationship. They were roommates but it felt like more. Keith knew he had a crush on the ex-criminal. He was embarrassed for what he said while on morphine but Lance hadn't mentioned it.

Keith, in total and complete sobriety, decided then and there he would investigate how Lance felt about him. Was the vibe he was receiving from Lance correct? Lance seemed to care about him and a way that differed from his friend Shiro, whom he had known for a few years. Lance acted in ways the past two weeks that made Keith question Lance's feelings toward the cop. He knew that Lance was into boys; evident from when they first met.

He was interrupted by the person in charge of physio; the hospital had been tracking his progress with walking and strength. The bullet was in his thigh and therefore it affected his whole leg. Out of the wounds, Keith despised this one the most. He didn't like being dependent on others for moving. He felt accomplished after physio; the physiotherapist told Keith he could walk by himself if he got a cane. His stab wound was the worse healing-wise, as it was the worse wound. It made his stamina decrease. But he could walk. Keith showed Dr. Zethrid after, and the two medical professionals signed him off to be able to leave that following evening. He was given a note for Lieutenant Allura, saying he could return to work in a few days as long as he was not in the field. Upon returning to his room, Keith immediately called Lance then Shiro to tell them the good news. Keith was tired after and decided to read to distract himself. He was too tired to pack.

Lance entered just as Keith was finishing a book. His seventh book during his hospital stay. Lance placed down a sandwich on Keith's bed table and immediately started packing up their stuff. Keith just watched him, not wanting to move until Ezor came to take out the stitches on his thigh and shoulder. The one for his stab wound would need to stay, and re-bandaged, which Lance was taught.

"How was work?" Keith deadpanned. He didn't feel like eating just yet.

"Good," Lance breathed as he threw stuff into a bag. "I spilled some coffee on me but other than that, it was good."

Ezor entered after a long silence, the only noise being Lance getting everything together. Lance came to Keith's side, holding his hand as Ezor took out the stitches. Lance about a week in started singing to Keith to help him calm down. Much to Keith's surprise, it helped a lot to focus on the words and sounds coming from Lance's mouth. The pain this time was a tight sting; Keith cried emotionlessly, without making any noise.

Shiro came and picked them up since Lance couldn't drive and Keith wasn't allowed. During the drive, the car was silent apart from the radio and Shiro's humming to the music. Keith was examining himself, looking at his injuries. Lance had to help by putting his phone in selfie mode to show Keith the marks. One thing Keith would not be able to cover up was the bruising on his arms from where the IV didn't go in correctly. He thankfully was passed out and didn't remember that at all. He quietly asked Lance if he could help him cover that up once he was ready to back to work. Lance agreed, telling Keith that he has makeup and practice. Keith was going to question it, but remembered when they went to get Lance's belongings from his parents' house and didn't say anything.

Shiro had insisted walking them to the apartment, helping by carrying the bags while Lance spotted Keith, who was using his new cane. Lance opened the door for Keith.

"SURPRISE! WELCOME HOME KEITH!" A group of four exclaimed, all jumping out from different points in the apartment when Keith got to the center of the living room. Pidge, Hunk, Allura, and Coran were all in the room; streamers and each of them had noise makers. Keith crossed his arms uncomfortably, averting his eyes, but everyone caught the small smile on his lips. He muttered that they didn't have to do that, and Allura assured him they wanted him to know he was missed at work. The smell of something delicious floated in from the kitchen as the group commiserated. The other members of the precinct sat down with Keith, squeezing themselves into the little furniture the boys had. Keith was blocking out everyone's voices and focusing on the smell wafting in and the television that was on. There was a game show playing, one Keith vaguely remembered watching in hospital. Garfle Warfle something? Keith didn't pay much attention when in the hospital to the television. Someone poking him drew him back to the social world.

"Hey, are you good?" Lance quietly asked. His brows were furrowed slightly and his face was full of anticipation.

"Just tired," Keith brushed off. He was tired, and the thought of his own bed made him want to ditch his friends.

"Are you wanting some alone time?" Lance inquired. Keith did. But his friends spent time into being here, he wasn't going to kick them out. Keith suddenly got a pained expression. Lance reacted quickly, jumping up, as Keith wrapped his arms around himself, shaking. The others froze in place, not sure what to do. Lance returned with the painkillers the doctors gave him for Keith. He quickly crushed the pill up, stirred it into a cup of water, and assisted Keith in taking it. Lance told the group that Keith would probably be groggy as he took his place next to the cop. Keith sat and waited until the meds kicked in before booting everyone out, which took about 40 minutes. By then Keith was already leaning on his roommate for support.

"Keith?" Pidge asked. He barely heard her.

"I'm not tired." Keith slurred groggily.

"It's okay if you want to go to bed." Lance gently said.

"I don't want to. I've been in bed ever since going to the hospital. I'm fine."

Lance let the conversation stop there because he felt that Keith was lying. His suspicions were correct, as Keith was snoring on the Latino almost five minutes later. He scooped the cop up into his arms, Shiro grabbing the cane and his bags. Everyone else left, knowing that Keith was still recovering from his procedures and knew he would be back at work when he could. Lance thanked the cops for coming and got his roommate into bed. Kosmo entered the room and snuggled up with Keith.

While Keith was in the hospital, Lance had decided to take a few courses at a university through the internet. So when Keith was off to dreamland despite it being early in the evening, Lance went on to the school's site to do his coursework. He was interested in helping people. He felt fulfilled when helping Keith, even if the cop treated him like a gremlin. Keith seemed okay with it not, but he was also given no choice. Lance wanted to go into a job where he could help others. The work was tough; Lance had to do a quiz about each of the systems in the human body. He learned way too much about the reproductive system for his liking. He checked up on Keith in between quizzes. He was sleeping each time. Lance smiled.

Keith was snuggled into his pillows, the blanket wrapping around him in a way that left his chest exposed but his entire back covered. From the door Lance could see the rise and fall of his chest, hear the tiny snores. Lance stayed at the door too long to be normal. The thought of possibly crawling into bed with Keith, wearing matching pajamas that Keith hated but wore for Lance, snuggling until they both fell asleep made Lance melt but also break. Sometimes he caught glances, speech patterns, and irregular behavior from the cop that ignited the hope inside of him that there was something between them. There were other times that Keith completely shut himself off and Lance didn't know why. He wanted to know. He wanted to help if he could. His mind kept searching for clues when he was up at night and forgot to take his meds. Or when there was down time at work in the past week. Or in moments like this, where Keith was unaware of Lance's presence. Lance didn't watch him sleep on a daily basis, but in moments like when he enters a room Keith is in and hasn't made it clear.

"Do I need to taser you to wipe that goofy grin off of your face?" Keith said, his voice muffled due to the pillows. This snapped Lance into the now, dumbstruck. Keith chuckled. He attempted to roll over by himself but it was agonizing for his stab wound. Lance sprung into action, helping Keith adjust his position to be comfy. Keith looked at Lance and smirked.

"Party's over?" Keith deadpanned. Lance nodded.

"Son of a- aaahh" Keith groaned as they moved him. Keith laid on the bed panting, eyes closed, under the blankets. Lance fidgeted as he stood there. He needed to change the dressing like the nurse taught him to. His first time doing so. He was studying medicine, but he didn't think this would come so soon, even if it was not a part of his coursework. He hated seeing people in pain. The thought that he could help and relieve some of that made him want to be a nurse. But seeing Keith in pain made something inside him cower back. He didn't want to mess up and hurt Keith more than he already was.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Keith snipped. Lance scratched behind his head and then grabbed the supplies needed. Keith sighed and cursed. He covered his head with the pillow and screamed. Lance told him to relax, that he would do it carefully and as quickly as possible. Keith was shaking now. He mumbled something from the pillow and Lance asked for clarification. Keith lifted the pillow just enough so it wasn't blocking the sound. Lance was taken aback.

"Go get my handcuffs, I have two sets." Keith ordered, strained.

"What, why?!"

"Because," Keith tore the pillow away from his face to look his roommate right in the eye. They were red and filled with fire. Keith was shaking. "If you don't I may punch you. You do NOT want that."

"Why would you punch me? You didn't punch Nurse Ezor…" Lance questioned. He was confused... Keith was decently behaved in the hospital. What was different?

"Good behavior meant getting out quicker. Also…" Keith averted his eyes, crossing his arms. "I had you to help…" He said the second part in a quieter voice, sounding vulnerable.

Something in Lance shattered and melted at the same time.

"Now you are the one who is being the nurse. I am consenting for you to handcuff me to the bed so you can do what you need to."

Lance followed Keith's instructions on where to find the handcuffs. Keith gave him a weird look once Lance was done cuffing him.

"I can't believe I'm asking this but have you done this before?" He asked incredulously. Typically people put them too tight or too loose their first time cuffing someone.

"Remember how we met?"

How could Keith forget now?

"Well… Some people I meet up with…" Lance trailed off. Keith didn't need him to finish that sentence. Lance asked if he could start and Keith nodded, squeezing his eyes shut. Every gentle touch of Lance's fingers made his skin crawl with both anxiety and yearning. Lance folded up Keith's shirt, then carefully slid his pants down to expose his abdomen, leaving everything below covered. Lance began changing the dressing, asking if Keith was okay every few seconds. Keith squirmed under the contact but managed to not scream. Lance helped him breathe through verbal instruction. The stab wound still had stitches which they would need to go get removed once the wound healed some more. Lance's shoulders released their tension once he was done. His face softened. He took the cuffs off of Keith; the cop rubbed his wrists and offered a small "Thanks". Lance left to throw out the old wrappings.

Keith was dressed normally when he returned, and to Lance's surprise was standing. With his cane, but still. Lance rushed over, telling Keith to sit down. Keith obeyed begrudgingly. Lance left again, grabbed his laptop, then returned. He sat down next to Keith, who was sitting on the edge of the bed rather than against the headboard. Keith watched as Lance did another quiz online.

Keith thought about the last two weeks. About the last few months of being with Lance. He was alone with him now. He knew Lance liked him back.

As soon as Lance was done the last quiz for the week, Keith stole the laptop from him. Kosmo had gone back to the living room when Keith was cuffed to the bed. Lance questioned Keith; the cop put on some slow music, set the laptop down on his empty bedside table, and then stood up. Lance jumped up to join him, grabbing his hands. He questioned Keith some more but Keith just adjusted their position. His arms wrapped around Lance's neck. He placed Lance's hands on his hips. Lance looked confused but with an undertone of excitement.

"Lance," Keith pulled him close so Keith could rest his chin on Lance's shoulder. "I think I like you. I know that might be weird considering our history but I suspect you feel something too. You have treated me these months we have been together with compassion and gratitude. I know that you were a criminal but… you have better intentions than anyone I have had to put behind bars. I understand it was survival for you, because you cared about your family. I'm not one for big expressions of feelings or monologuing but.. You have brought this out of me Lance. I didn't expect to like you but here we are..."

He pulled away to look Lance in the eyes. They were big, his mouth agape.

"Keith.. I… I like you too. Kiss me?"

They had kissed before but this was different. Before there was a desperation. No emotional bond between the two boys. They didn't know each other;they were strangers. Now there was passion and love and a hunger. The first kiss was short. The two locked eyes upon separation for a brief moment then dove into the second kiss. Soon Keith was on his back on the bed, Lance carefully straddling his waist. Kissing. Happy.

 **A/N: I kind of want to end it there but if you want more, comment!**

 **Shout out to Shiranai Atsune for requesting this! I had originally thought it would only be 2-3 chapters long but thus idea was great so it expanded to more.**

 **Thank you sooooo much for readin and I hope you enjoyed :)**


	6. The People

**A/N: Hey, sorry for taking so long with this update! TW for mentioning abuse. The chapters are going to start dealing with more serious stuff and I will trigger warn at the beginning of the chapter if necessary. Hope you like it 3 Please leave a review and let me know!**

Lance usually had to take meds to sleep. That night Keith invited him to sleep with him, in a non-sexual way, and Lance felt AMAZING the next morning. The two boys had made dinner together, then cuddled and watched some shows on an online streaming service. Eventually falling asleep in each other's embrace. Lance had given Keith small pecks which elicited small noises indicating happiness from the cop. It made Lance's heart flutter. There was also an awkwardness between the boys because while they felt happy, neither one was expecting this. What did this mean for them? Were they dating?

Lance woke up first and took a long moment to observe his bed companion. Keith was still sleeping and he wasn't supposed to be putting pressure on his wounds. Lance gently, carefully adjusted Keith to a better position, checking up on the wounds. The two gunshots were healed to the point of not needing bandages. The worst one was the stab wound. Lance wanted to wait for Keith to wake up before attempting to change the bandage and look at the wound. He got up out of bed and went to the kitchen to make breakfast. Luckily he had the day off from both workplaces, and Keith was only to go back when he was healed enough. Lance made french toast for the two of them. He left the food on their dinner table and returned to Keith's bedroom. He was still sleeping. Lance crawled in next to him and started caressing his upper arm. Keith slowly became conscious, took in his surroundings (including Keith), and relaxed on the bed. He looked at Lance, eyes wide and starting to tear up.

"Handcuffs," Keith whispered. Lance understood. When Lance returned with them, Keith was crying on the bed. Lance immediately dropped the handcuffs, rushed over to Keith and embraced him. He started rocking slightly, rubbing Keith's back in what he hoped was soothing gestures. Lance sang to him which led to Keith managing to calm down. Lance told him that if he wanted to talk about it, Lance was open to listen. Keith just shook his head. Lance asked what he could do as Keith pulled away, hissing at the pain from that action. Keith told Lance to continue putting the handcuffs on. Keith lay complacent while Lance chained him down. Lance folded Keith's shirt up and shimmied his pants down enough to expose the bandage. Keith was shaking. Now that they have established feelings for one another, Lance wondered if he could help Keith in another way.

"Would it help if I try and help you relax first?" Lance asked. Keith looked at him puzzled. Lance climbed on the bed to straddle Keith. Upon assuming the position, he stopped.

"Can I kiss you?"

Keith, despite the nerves he must have been feeling, smirked. It was a shaky smirk but a smirk nevertheless.

"I thought nurses weren't supposed to do that with their patients."

"I'm not a nurse yet," Lance commented.

"What are you thinking?" Keith questioned. Lance explained that he wanted Keith to relax and if they started kissing that it could help and increase endorphins or something. Keith told Lance to save that for after they were done because he just wanted to get it over with. Lance respected his decision and did his job swiftly yet carefully. He looked at Keith once it was done, a mischievous smile on him.

"You know, depending on how this goes, I wouldn't mind you like this or switching places."

Keith's face turned bright red. He couldn't cover his face due to the handcuffs. Lance released him from the handcuffs, putting them where he got them from. When he returned to the bedroom, Keith beckoned him over. As soon as Lance was in reach, Keith grabbed his shirt and slowly pulled the ex-criminal down. Lance got the memo. He straddled Keith's hips and made contact with Keith's lips.

"Breakfast will get cold," Lance said in between kisses. Keith said he didn't care. Lance took off his own shirt. Keith started trailing his fingertips over the exposed skin, sending chills up the boy on top's spine.

"I don't mind," Keith whispered. He slipped his own shirt off with some assistant from Lance. Keith shivered as the Cuban kissed his jaw, then neck, then chest, then back up again. Lance repositioned both of them so that they were both on their sides. The boys entangled their limbs together. They were there long enough that Lance remade the French toast when the two boys eventually separated. Lance ate the old soggy breakfast because he wasn't picky. Keith sauntered into the kitchen eventually, cane in use, and Lance was pleased about how much he ate. Keith complimented the breakfast. He told his roommate that Allura sent some stuff online for him to do, and that she wants him to come in later that day. They needed Keith to identify the drug dealers who shot and stabbed him. Luckily Lance was off work until the following day. And he didn't mind looking after Keith. While his roommate (boyfriend?) was stubborn, Keith knew that everything Lance helped with was needed.

The two sat on their couch, Lance feeding Kosmo after breakfast, and Lance did his online course. Keith helped him answer some of the questions while the cop watched shows online.

At some point Lance stopped doing his homework and watched along with Keith. At the end of the episode, Keith turned to Lance, darting his eyes.

"So, uh, this is gonna sound like it came from some sort of teenage drama but… What are exactly?"

Lance chuckled a little. Keith was so cute.

"Well, I like you and I think you like me, so… Boyfriends?"

Keith smiled, turning away to hide the blush forming in his cheeks.

"I'd like that…"

Keith crossed his arms shyly.

"As you know, I already know about your discomfort with anything beyond being half naked… I am good with that, there is no rush to do anything. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help." Lance said. He sounded genuine; Keith was more uncomfortable but only because of the topic. What Lance said did make a part of him feel better. Keith placed his laptop on the table they had, next to where Lance's was. The screen currently had a powerpoint about genetics.

"Did you want to head into the precinct after I'm done with this powerpoint?" Lance inquired. Keith nodded. He remembered the faces of the three people in the lab.

He and Shiro were outnumbered. Keith had gone in first, gun at the ready. He had only counted two people in the room before storming in. That's when the first shot went off. Hit his shoulder, just getting to where his shoulder was exposed from the bullet-proof vest he had on. He looked right in the eyes of the person who shot him. Their info had said there was only one gun, two people. He heard the second gun go off. His thigh. At first he did not see the culprit. Shiro came in and ran after the two. He took them down without needing to shoot, as the criminals were not as good at aiming when running away. Keith had seen the other guy who shot him and ran as best as he could. His prey had turned a corner and once Keith did, he was punched in the shoulder. He stumbled back, reaching for anything on his belt that could help. The attacker had the advantage. A knee to Keith's ribs. He had the air knocking out of him but stayed standing. Keith swung a few punches. Most landed. The attacker did not take it well when Keith punched his face. He called Keith two derogatory slurs. Keith pushed him up against the wall, pinning him to it, an arm against the throat and the other holding down a hand. The other guy had an arm behind his back which was unknown to the cop. Keith spat at him. Allura buzzed in through the radio which distracted Keith enough for the criminal to surprise him. Keith slumped down. Shiro ran around the corner Keith had just came from and tackled the attacker. Keith strainedly called for help. Shiro instructed him to stay where he was. Keith was fine though, right? He was able to stand up and walk. He decided he wasn't far from home. He definitely could not handle going into an ambulance in the state he was in. He thought that Lance must have had first aid training. It was only minor wounds, right? Shiro was too distracted by arresting his attacker that he didn't notice Keith moving. He made eye contact with the attacker once more before Shiro dragged him away.

While Shiro was a good cop, they needed two "witnesses" before making an official arrest. Before questioning. Keith and Shiro were the only ones there. Shiro texted Keith to tell him that Pidge will be coming to pick him up and just left. Lance noticed the change in mood. Keith's jaw was tighter. He wasn't blinking as often. His face turned into a grimace. Lance scooted up beside Keith. He asked if Keith was ok, his voice soft and non-intrusive. Keith appreciated that. Lance fidgeted, as if he was going to touch Keith but decided against it.

"Finish your powerpoint, I want to go have a shower." Keith grumbled. Lance assisted with getting Keith into the bathroom. There was a shower chair for Keith since he couldn't stand for too long. Lance reminded him to not let any water hit the stab wound bandage directly before leaving Keith to his own devices. Keith was relieved that Lance wanted him to have as much independence as possible, especially when it came to personal care. He hated being looked after.  
One time when he was at the Garrison, a nasty virus had gone through a few of the students there. Keith was one of the oh-so-lucky ones to catch this virus. He was bed bound for an entire week; he couldn't move other than to wretch into a garbage can or change positions in his bed. He was dating Travis at the time, who took it upon himself to take care of Keith. He brought Keith food, made sure he had water, and held him down when the nurse decided to hydrate him via IV since he wasn't keeping anything down. Keith couldn't really do anything for himself. After three days, Travis had gotten frustrated because Keith couldn't bathe and wouldn't let the nurse help him. In a defeated, tired mindset Keith allowed his boyfriend to wash him on the condition that he could keep his underwear on. Travis agreed however the two boys found out fast that it would be difficult for Keith to change afterward. Keith was defeated. He would hold in his tears as Travis - who tried his best to not look at a certain area of Keith - bathed him. Travis had been respectful but Keith didn't feel any less uncomfortable and exposed. Travis would cuddle with a cold, shaking, silently-crying Keith after he put his pajamas on.  
Keith shivered at the memory despite the hot water on his skin. He closed his eyes to focus on the steaming water hitting his back, running down his body. His muscles ached from all the strained effort. The water helped to release some built up tension in his body. He realized that he should probably get moving since Pidge would be there soon.

Lance was getting tired of doing his homework. While he wanted to learn everything he could there was some information he didn't understand why he would need to learn it. When he would use it in a professional setting. Since his course was online, Lance could speed through the material if he wanted to. That's what he was currently doing; he was two weeks ahead of the rest of the class.

Lance had wanted to go to school after high school. He was really good at most subjects. Genuinely enjoyed learning. He even received a few scholarships. But even with the money given he couldn't afford to go to school. Not that he knew what he wanted to do at the time. Now that he saw himself in a field of work, that he saw himself as something more than just a lowlife criminal who couldn't amount to anything beyond. He had pride in finding the course easy.

Keith swearing loudly from the bathroom yanked him out of his thoughts. Lance slid the laptop off of his lap, ran to the bathroom door. He knocked hastily. Called Keith's name.

"Don't come in," Keith moaned.

"What happened?" Lance called through the door. He was itching to burst through and help Keith however he could but also knew Keith would be pissed. But what if Keith was hurt?

"I slipped. I'm fine." Keith struggled to say clearly.

"Keith, you don't sound fine," Lance commented. "Can I please come in?"

"No Lance! I got it!" Anger. Maybe frustration. Followed by more swearing and a yelp of pain then a thud. Silence.

"Keith? I think I should come in…"

Silence. Lance opened the door slightly and poked his head in, eyes closed. He listened for any sign of Keith being conscious. Keith's breathing was heavy and it sounded like he was crying.

"Leave Lance." Keith growled through gritted teeth.

"Are you hurt?" Lance figured Keith was feeling vulnerable; both because of his injury and due to being, well, naked. Which he knew Keith hated. Which was why he was being stubborn. And not answering his question. "Keith please… I promise I won't look at anything. My eyes are closed."

"I know, I can see you. The curtain fell because I tried to grab it on my way down."

"Is it-...?"

"It's on the floor of the bathroom. Don't you dare open your eyes."

Lance started feeling his way into the bathroom. He heard that the shower was going and decided to turn that off first. Once that was accomplished, he felt his way to where the towels were kept.

"I'm gonna grab a towel for you to wrap around yourself." Lance explained while feeling around. Keith explained that he was trying to stand up but due to his muscular state he couldn't react fast enough when he slipped. Lance asked if anything hurt. Everything did but Keith said his arms and hip. Lance asked what Keith could move. Keith just breathed for a little while. He eventually said he would need help sitting up. Lance found the bathtub and knelt down. He felt the bathing chair, figured out Keith was somehow under it.

"Can you move your arms and put the towel on yourself? Or would that strain your abs too much?"

A sob escaped Keith and Lance didn't need any other confirmation. He placed a hand down, found Keith's arm. He felt down to where Keith's hand was, decided to lay the towel across there. Keith was shaking.

"Is this because you are cold?" Lance asked. He kept his eyes shut. No response. "Is the towel covering you? Do you mind if I open my eyes?"

Keith gave a small noise that sounded like he was trying to speak but something was caught in his throat. He told Lance that he was covered and agreed to Lance's help. Lance's eyes widened when he saw the scene.

Keith was laying down in the bath. The bath chair was over his head and chest. Lance saw the shower curtain next to him, a water hand on it. Keith's skin was pale from exertion, his eyes bloodshot but no tears. He was still trembling. He crossed his arms over his chest. The bandage on his waist looked fine, thank goodness. Lance took the bath chair out of the tub to a better location. He pulled Keith so that the cop was sitting with the wall of the bath supporting his weight. Lance asked if Keith was comfortable with being picked up bridal style.

"There's no other way, is there?" Keith mumbled dejectedly. Lance looked around. Keith motioned for Lance to come closer, mumbling for him to get it over with. Lance wrapped an arm under Keith's arms and around his back, the other under his knees. The towel hanging over the top. He sat Keith onto the toilet so that he could grab some clothes for Keith's comfort. He plopped the clothes down on his toweled lap, grabbing another towel to dry him off. He brought Keith a granola bar to hopefully help give him some strength, and some pain meds. Pidge would be there soon.

Lance wouldn't admit it, but he liked drying Keith's mop of hair with a towel. He closed his eyes as Keith dressed, offering arms to help Keith support himself. The cop allowed Lance to put his pants on and shirt. Lance also brushed Keith's hair. Keith closed his eyes, moaning in pleasure as Lance massaged his scalp while running the brush through his hair.

"I'm sorry I am such a mess," Keith suddenly said.

"You're allowed to be a mess sometimes." Lance said. "I was a mess when you first met me. Still am."

Keith smirked. "What are, er, um… Boyfriends for?"

Lance's heart somehow melted and skipped a beat at the same time. He planted a kiss on Keith's forehead after brushing the hair back.

"Well, we didn't really know each other back then. But still, you were kind and generous and let me into your home. I would probably be on the street or in a jail cell if it wasn't for you."

Keith, eyes still closed and entranced by the motions Lance was making, smiled and hummed in bliss.

"Let me know when you two are ready."

Lance almost jumped out of his skin.

"Pidge?! How long have you been here."

"I am not sure what you are doing in the bathroom but all I know is that you brought in some clothes for Keith…"

If Pidge could see the two boys, she would have seen how red both of them turned.

"It's not like that, Keith slipped and I had to help…" Lance trailed off. Keith grumbled that Pidge was just joking. Lance exited the room, grabbed Keith's cane, returned, helped Keith stand up and they exited the bathroom. Pidge pointed out that if Lance was coming, he should change into clothes that were dry. Lance quickly slipped into another shirt and pants, put food into Kosmo's dish, and headed to the car where Keith and Pidge were. MUSIC was blazing when Pidge turned the key.

Lance and Keith were overwhelmed with the balloons and streamers and noisemakers that made up their surroundings as they entered the precinct. Allura had a cake on Keith's desk that said "Welcome back Keith". Keith was leaning on Lance as well as his cane as he stood in the entry, being bombarded by the joyous welcomes. He sat down at his desk, not being able to hide the appreciative smile on his face. He offered a piece of cake to Lance before serving everyone else.

"So does this mean that Keith doesn't have to identify the dudes who shot and stabbed him?" Lance asked, standing behind Keith's spinning chair, leaning with one elbow on the back of the chair.

"He still has to, but we made it into a party," Hunk said. He offered Keith a sympathetic smile.

"First identifying, then cake," Keith mumbled. Lance offered to help Keith move but he wanted to be Mr. Tough Guy and do it all by himself. He was able to head over to the cells his stabber and shooter were in without much struggle. Keith quickly signed off with Shiro, then returned. Coran, the assistant, put on a playlist in the office.

The only thing people seemed to want to talk to Keith about was his health or what it was like being shot and stabbed. It was kind of cool that he had battle scars, however there was more to Keith than his injury. Other than Shiro, Hunk, Pidge, Allura, and maybe Coran, these people did not seem to care about him when he was not injured. They were all nosy. Curious, if one wanted a more positive word. People were also asked Lance personal questions - not that Lance minded, he answered most of them - that Keith thought were a bit distasteful. Yeah, Lance was his boyfriend. Hilariously no one recognized him from when he was arrested, or if anyone did they wouldn't bring it up. Keith figured that his coworkers knew facing his attackers was a lot and it would be awkward to bring it up with Lance there. That didn't stop the looks when Lance showed small affection towards Keith.

Keith had tried to be pleasant with everyone, he really did. But everyone wanted to talk to him about his injury. Keith went to the bathroom to get some breathing room. Lance snagged Keith's chair; partially because he was tired but also so that no one would steal his chair. He made it there without issues. Getting back to Lance, to the man who is now his boyfriend (a concept Keith was still trying to wrap his head around) was when he got bombarded yet again.

"Hey Keith," one of the new officers said shyly. She was pointedly looking at his shoulder. "I was wondering…. How did it feel to get shot and stabbed.

Keith huffed, out of exhaustion and annoyance. He was walking with his cane.

"Would you like to find out?!" He grumbled. Part of him instantly regretted it, the other part was just done with people. The girl stormed off. By the time Keith made it to his desk, Allura was waiting for him. She asked to have a word privately with Keith and escorted him into her office. She looked at the injured cop sternly. Allura told him that while she realizes he is in pain, it did not give him a free pass to be an asshole. Keith was given the option to take a leave off work, or to do low-energy activities that would not require moving. Or social interaction. The way Allura said the option, Keith figured that she was truly giving him a choice. Keith asked if he could think on it, and he was allowed. But she did want him to be more aware of what he is saying.

Lance was waiting outside of the office when Keith exited. He immediately went to Keith's side and said in a low voice "Oooooooo somebody's in troubllllllllle"

Keith scoffed but secretly thought Lance was being cute. He was allowed to think that because they were dating. Lance told Keith that he heard what happened from Coran; Allura told him to tell Lance to spare Keith having to explain himself. Keith nodded solemnly. Allura did say that she understood where the comment came from, but it was not professional. He DID feel bad about his comment but he couldn't help it. Everyone was crowding him and asking questions. He just wanted to hang out with Lance, Hunk, Pidge, Shiro, and Allura. Coran too, despite the age gap. Keith considered inviting them over after he was healed. They were the only ones that were not fixated on what happened. Shiro even gave him a playful punch in the shoulder earlier when they were talking. Shiro immediately apologized, but Keith liked that Shiro was not acting any different around him.

Allura escorted Keith out of the precinct, Shiro offering to drive. Keith sat in the back, Lance cuddling with him. Socializing and dealing with people was exhausting.

Lance knew Keith was asleep long before they pulled into the driveway. Over the music and light conversation he was having with Shiro, he could hear the soft snores emitting from the back seat. Lance scooped his unconscious boyfriend up into his arms, thanked Shiro for the help, and entered their apartment. He made sure to tuck in Keith gently, being wary of the still-healing wounds.

Lance got a head start on figuring out what they were to have for supper. He found the ingredients and then went to check on his course.

A panicked knock on the door made Lance jump and interrupted his focus on the coursework. He stumbled over to the door; they weren't expecting guests, obviously. Maybe it was Shiro, coming to check in or because they forgot something? But when Lance opened the door, he was surprised.

His sister Veronica stood there. Out of everyone in the world, he was NOT expecting to see her at the door. He was not expecting to see her at all for a while. Last time they spoke, she was off to university. Lance sent money to his parents to help her pay for schooling when he was a criminal, but he never actually had contact with her. She was in the house when Lance went to pick up his stuff. He knew she had a job now but was living with their parents. Which explained Veronica's appearance.

Lance immediately noticed the hand shaped red mark on her tear-stricken face. She offered a weak smile of relief when the door opened. Her hair was disheveled. She had clothes in her arms as well a backpack that obviously didn't have a large quantity of items in. the sight of her made Lance's stomach churn. He knew where that mark came from. He could probably guess with great accuracy how Veronica was feeling. Despite being older than him, Veronica was viewed as someone Lance had to protect and help. He swore Keith would be arresting him for a life-sentence if his suspicions were correct.

"Lance? I'm sorry this is so sudden, but… something's happened…"

"What's up?" Lance tightly asked. Holding back all of the emotions he was feeling. The distance. The love. The passionate anger for what he assumed happened. Lance let the thought of his other siblings experiencing the same thing slip by without acknowledging it.

"I know this is sudden but can I stay with you?" Her eyes darted to behind Lance to the apartment. "Just until I can save up for my own? It might be a few months, with my new job."

"I'll have to ask Keith but I think it will be okay. What happened?"

Veronica's lip quivered and she took a deep breath. Her gazed descended to her feet.

"Dad hit me… and I just… couldn't take it anymore… and the screaming…"

Lance moved out of her way, gesturing for her to enter.

"Stay here, I'm almost done supper. I can ask Keith when I go wake him up."

Veronica did sit on the couch, looking very out of place and lost. Lance felt a similar turmoil inside him; mostly anger. He couldn't focus on that now though. He needed to get the full story. Maybe Keith could help, him being a cop and all?

Lance hoped he could take part in jailing the real criminal in the family.

 **A/N: Shoutout to Shiranai Atsune for suggesting this prompt/fic!**


	7. The Sibling

Keith woke to Lance shaking him gently. He was still groggy from sleep and tired from the event at work. He was still on some painkillers. His mood was a roller coaster due to the pain and the drugs but Lance seemed to be accommodating and understanding. He spoke in a soft voice to Keith now. He was entranced by the sound of Lance that he couldn't process the words coming out of his mouth. Keith pulled Lance down into the bed; Lance was surprised how strong Keith was in this state. He chuckled as Keith hugged him tight.

"Hey," Lance tried again. He knew that Keith hadn't heard him the first four times.

"Mhmmmm," Keith moaned gleefully.

"Supper's ready. And, uh, there's something I need to discuss with you."

That got Keith's attention. Lance helped Keith sit up, which turned into Lance supporting the cop's weight as they sat, spooning. Lance explained in vague details about his sister and how she showed up a few minutes ago. He told Keith about their relationship history. That she went to college and became a pilot for the government. She is just starting to fly but needs a place to live due to it not working out at their parents. Keith suspected why but didn't bring it up. That was a conversation to have when he was alert and possibly at the station. Lance did advise him to not ask her personal questions right away. They discussed how the new living situation was going to work and figured out the bedroom and mealtimes. Keith agreed, as long as the rent was paid. Lance assisted Keith to stand and walk out to the table.

Keith's stomach dropped at the red handprint on Veronica's face but kept his mouth shut. They sat down across from each other, staring each other up and down until Lance brought out the food. They ate in silence.

"So Veronica," Lance said once finished his food. "You will move into my room and I will be sleeping with Keith."

Veronica looked in between the two.

"You two are dating, right?" She asked casually.

"Yeah…" Lance said.

"Just as long as you're quiet, we will get along just fine."

Lance tried to reply but he stuttered on his words without getting any coherently out.

"That won't be a problem," Keith deadpanned. Veronica looked to Lance with an unreadable expression. Surprised? Taken back?

"or if it does," Keith smirked as he continued, "we can get you earplugs."

Veronica chuckled. "Also just… be safe."

"Ronnie!"

"What?!" She exclaimed, failing at hiding a sly smile. "I know we haven't talked in a while but I know your, erm, habits…"

"Can't wait to hear what Lance was like in High School." Keith had a mischievous gleam in his eye that made Lance second guess letting his sister stay. The two finished their meals; the Latinxes cleaned up while Keith went to check his email in his room. There were no emails, however Allura texted him asked when he would like to return to the office. He texted his work preferences. Keith didn't want to deal with people. Allura said that he could do cataloguing in the back room, in which he would not be bothered unless needed. Lance entered just after he sent a reply to Allura, with his stuff. He stood against the wall, looking down, arms crossed.

"Would it be okay if we go pick her stuff up from the house?" Lance asked sheepishly. Keith wasn't sure if he could drive legally, which he communicated to Lance. Lance said that Veronica's friend could drive, but they wanted Keith there. Tomorrow after Lance's work.

"Why do you want me there?" Keith asked. He was still on bedrest, so he was available. Lance sighed and took a deep breath. Head downcast.

"Would it be too much to wear your cop uniform? It's a safety thing for Veronica..."

That set off multiple alarms in Keith's head. His stomach dropped. He had a hunch of what the situation was before but each time family matters came into the conversation, it added to proof of possible abuse. Keith had to ignore the image of Lance being abused in order to think straight.

"A safety thing?" Keith wanted clarification but was not going to push too hard. When Lance is ready to talk about specifics he will talk.

"Just because she's nervous." Lance would not meet his gaze. A strong wall put up and an obvious discomfort. Keith dropped the prodding.

"Sure. I might not be in the best shape to do anything."

Lance muttered it was fine; finally made eye contact with Keith and the cop saw in, what was for him, slow motion Lance break down completely. Keith managed to get up and pull Lance into a hug as his boyfriend cried.

"I just don't know what I would do if he hits her again…"

Keith wanted to turn off his emotions. He wanted to get into his cop mindset, ignore the connection he had with Lance, and deal with it that way. He would obviously have to report Lance's dad. But that would be something when he could get confessions. That would be something to do when the beautiful, kind, and compassionate Lance McLean was not standing in his arms, crying and wanting comfort. He rubbed Lance's back in, what he hoped was, a soothing manner. They didn't talk for a while. Stood in each other's embrace. The smell of Keith was grounding for Lance. Everything about Keith helped Lance calm down and eventually they separated. Lance thanked Keith. Keith blushed. Lance began to sort out where his stuff would go, talking to Keith about space and closets. As if they did not have that moment. Keith helped as much as he could. It was weird for him to have someone to share his space with. At the academy, he had a roommate but they had separate sides of the room. There were no shared spaces. Now Lance's belongings would fill up the empty places in the closet, just like how Lance filled the empty spaces in his life. They have not been together for long, but their compatibility was strong. Keith never felt the way he felt towards Lance before. Not with Travis or any of his crushes. He felt safe. He felt at home. The apartment was not home until Lance moved in, not really. Keith liked the way Lance made him feel about himself. He could rely on Lance. Sure, he was a criminal and did some not-great shit. But he had good reasons and was going about it morally. Keith admired that Lance was willing to take things slowly in the physical intimacy department. It was clear that Lance cared for Keith. Neither boy had told the other that they loved each other yet. And that was okay. Keith felt Lance's love for him.

"What would you like to do until bedtime?" Lance's voice pulled Keith out of his thoughts.

"You can go help your sister out. I'll be fine reading for the rest of the night."

Lance smiled warmly and planted a peck on Keith's forehead. Keith's stomach melted and the intimate touch. Lance left Keith to his own devices.

Later that night, Lance came into the room for sleep. They had slept in the same bed before, but it had meant something different. Now, they would be sleeping together every night. This space was Lance's too.

Keith had changed for bed by himself. He was proud; he didn't need help from anyone to perform this task. He could see himself in the future being able to go back to work instead of reading and watching television all day. He didn't like doing desk work or other non-field work. This was a sign of recovery and Keith was ready to be healed. Lance had been so good for him. He helped with physio when he could and was was a tender, caring soul, and Keith felt the happiest he had ever been. Being with Lance made him feel different, in a good way, than before. He felt like he could contribute to Lance's life in a similar way that Lance did to his. Lance was in a bad place when they met the second time; Keith was in a bad place when they first met. Lance hadn't interrogated Keith about his reaction to intimate activity. He respected boundaries. Lance wanted Keith to tell him but on Keith's terms. Keith wondered about Lance's family but was not going to probe for it. Over the months they had grown close to each other. When they first started living together, Keith viewed his future with many questions. Lance was the answer. Keith's job was not going to change, he knew that. All he pictured was him being a cop; everything else was a mystery. Now he could see himself in a corny picket-fenced house, with Lance, their children playing in the yard. Lance was training to be a nurse via his online course and Keith could also see Lance in that position in the future. In their future. Keith could see Lance and him sharing just about everything. While in the moment, they were sharing the bed, Keith knew that he was ready for more.

One thing Keith didn't think about until it happened was how dressed either boy would be. Keith usually slept in his boxers. But that was before his hot sexy Latino boyfriend was in the picture. Granted, Lance had seen Keith in his boxers before, it was when he was having a night terror.

And then there was Lance. How did he sleep? What did he wear or lack thereof?

Keith contemplated this while watching Lance take his sleeping medication. Lance then pulled his shirt over his head, revealing his chest. Keith ogled respectively. Lance smirked at Keith's gaze.

"Like what you see?" Lance coyly asked.

"Maybe," Keith said. He could be coy too. He turned his focus back to his book, dramatically holding it up to block Lance from his sight. There was a drop in the bed.

"Perhaps you want to see more?" Lance was now next to Keith on the bed. Keith's gaze stayed.

"It is a possibility."

Lance moved and straddled Keith, took one hand, slowly lowered the book to make Keith look at him. Lance's boxers startled Keith. When did he take his pants off? Keith set his book on the night side table but crossed his arms.

"Do you sleep in your boxers? Also, you just took your sleeping meds. Shouldn't we wait until morning?"

Lance gave Keith a peck on the forehead.

"It takes about half an hour to kick in." Lance held Keith's face with both of his hands and placed their foreheads together. Keith leaned to meet Lance's lips, both boys exploding with want. With a drive. Keith pushed Lance away after a solid few minutes of making out. He grabbed Lance by the wrists and guided his hands down to the hem of his shirt, then guided Lance's hands up when he felt that Lance had a hold of his shirt. Keith breathed heavy once it was off, nervousness and thrill. He ferociously reconnected their lips. Lance moved down to suck on Keith's neck but Keith stopped him.

"Lower," he breathed. Lance looked at him with questioning. "My uniform for work won't cover that area if a hickey is left."

Lance chose Keith's chest as his relocation spot. Keith focused on the sensation and not the feeling of panic that was starting to bubble up. Keith pushed Lance off gently. He ordered Lance to lie down, causing a mischievous gleam in Lance's eyes. He obeyed. Keith, slowly but surely, managed to climb on top on Lance, sitting on his hips. He did to Lance was was just done to him.

"By the way," Lance panted, "I only wear boxers. If you have a discomfort with that, I don't mind switching."

Keith also wore his boxers. While he wasn't thrilled, he could get used to it.

"I think it's ok."

Silence followed. The two got too caught up in their activity for talking. Apart from soft, distracted "yes"'s coming from both boys. Lance began raking his hands across Keith's body. The cop's spine turned into icicles. Both good and bad. Lance slid his hands from Keith's middle back, down to his butt. He felt around and gave a little squeeze. Keith, definitely not expecting that, squealed before launching into a panic. He ripped himself off of Lance. Laid down. He was shaking. Crying, maybe? All was a blur. Next thing Keith knows, he is being tucked into a blanket and spooned by Lance. Whispering tearful apologies. Keith attempted to calm down but found he could only do that with his breathing.

"Sorry Lance," Keith muttered.

"I'm sorry I didn't fully ask you before doing that. Are you okay?"

Keith nodded, then a yawn escaped him. His shoulder was throbbing but he was okay otherwise. When he rolled over to face Lance, the boy's eyebrows raised in horror. He quickly left the room to grab something. When he returned, Lance threw some pants at Keith. Lance put some on as well.

"What's going on?" Keith sounded small and terrified. Lance sadly looked at his boyfriend.

"You must have irritated the stitches… You're bleeding."

Keith's stomach dropped. He swore loudly. He knew that Lance had to fix it. He knew Lance would have to tie him up for both of their safety. Keith didn't allow himself to cry. After some struggling from Keith, the cop begrudgingly asked Lance to put his pants on. Keith flinched at the touch of Lance's hands but didn't try to hurt his boyfriend. He defeatedly lifted his arms towards the posts of the bed for Lance to tie or handcuff. It throbbed and stung like hell. Lance set him up as fast as he could. Realizing that the position required would mean Keith could potentially kick him, he asked the cop if it was okay if his sister came to help. Keith didn't understand exactly how a pilot could help with first aid, but agreed. Lance yelled out for his sister.

Veronica sauntered into the room. Her eyes went from Lance, to Keith, to the wound, to the handcuffs, to the first aid kit Lance had.

"This better not get weird…" Veronica warned.

"Sit on Keith's legs so I can fix the wound up," Lance requested. She obliged.

"Is he a kicker?" She asked while planting herself on Keith's calves.

"When provoked," Lance said.

Keith wasn't sure what to feel. It hurt like a bitch. Lance cleaned the wound before starting his work. His hands were nimble. That gave Keith some relief. He strained against his human and metal restraints but to no ado. Lance apologized as he worked, giving Keith small intimate touched (stroking of the face, peck on the cheek) in between the various steps in stitching the wound. Keith knew it was done when Veronica got off of his legs. She complimented Keith on his endurance before exiting the room. Lance cleaned up the equipment as Keith adjusted himself to a comfier position on the bed. Luckily, and surprisingly, no blood got on the sheets. Lance sidled next to Keith in bed. Both boys were in just their boxers and, unbeknownst to the other, were both feeling exposed yet comfortable. They decided it was time for bed since the following day would be rough once Lance returned home from work.

Keith woke up to the smell of something good and an empty bed. He was not up for an alarm, but because his body naturally woke up at the time he would usually go to work. It was embedded in him. Moaned loudly as he hoisted himself up and off of the bed. Got dressed. Every little thing hurt but he could at least do it on his own if he went slow. By the time he got out to the kitchen, Lance was packing a lunch. His boyfriend greeted him gleefully, but there was an undertone of nervousness. Keith offered a tiny smile in return.

"I made french toast for breakfast with a side of sausage. Ronnie's at work and I am going there now." Lance twiddled his thumbs after closing his work bag, biting his lip. "Are you still down for going to get Veronica's stuff?"

Keith groggily plopped himself down in his chair, nodding at the question. "Yeah."

Lance sighed in relief. He quickly walked out of the apartment, but not before giving Keith a kiss goodbye. Keith felt that kiss long after Lance left.

He spent the whole day reading and cleaning. Well, more so reading because it did not take long before he physically exerted himself during a task and needed a break. He lost track of time and soon enough, Lance and Veronica entered the apartment. Keith didn't hear them until Lance came back into their shared bedroom. Keith realized he was in his comfy clothes and that he should get something nicer on to confront Lance's dad. He was not going to dress up in his cop uniform, because he wasn't on duty. He was going to bring his badge, some handcuffs, and his taser though. Just in case. Keith was glad that despite reopening the wound the night previous, he could walk and support himself. Lance though his dirty clothes in his hamper before grabbing clean, casual clothes for the rest of the day. He slipped out of his uniform and into the outfit in front of Keith, which Keith didn't mind the view. Once Lance was done, the Cuban turned around to assess his boyfriend's attire.

"Do you need help getting changed?" He asked, slight tremor to his voice. Keith motioned for Lance to come sit next to him on the bed, and he complied. Keith climbed painfully onto Lance's lap. He looked him in the eyes.

"Do we have time to continue what we were doing last night? If you want to?" Keith softly asked.

"Uh, yeah" Lance choked. He made up for it by kissing Keith vigorously. Keith pulled away and took off his shirt, hissing slightly. Lance ran his hands up and down Keith's body. Keith shivered. Lance made a move to switch positions, making sure he was careful with Keith. Keith grinded his hips against Lance. Giggled against his lips when Lance squealed. Lance was quick to take off the shirt he just put on.

"Lance?" Keith said in between kisses.

"Mhmmm?" Lance answered against Keith's lips. Keith pushed Lance off, then closer so he could whisper in his ear.

"I might need help taking my pants off," he whispered. His voice trembled as he said it, and he hoped Lance couldn't see or feel how badly he was shaking. Both from effort and from nervousness. Lance smiled before resuming their kiss. His hands snaked down Keith's body, as did his lips, causing Keith to shiver for a different reason. Lance slowly brought down Keith's pants, down off of his legs, and came back to kissing him. Lance asked if he could do a bit of exploring and massaging, which Keith said yes as confidently as he could muster.

Keith did want this. He didn't know where the nerves were coming from. All it took was a few touches until-

"Keith?"

When Keith came back to reality, he was sitting down on his bed, a blanket wrapped around him. He felt as if someone punched the air out of his lungs. He tried evening out his breathing. He was being held by someone. Lance. He was sitting on Lance's lap, wrapped in a blanket, in only his boxers. His face was wet; he cried? Is crying? He was definitely hyperventilating. Lance was crying too. His embrace was grounding.

"Keith? I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry… Please, love, say something?" Lance was begging. He sounded distressed.

"Lance?" Keith managed to croak. Lance held him tighter in relief. "What happened?"

Lance loosened his hold on Keith, managing to calm down enough to address the cop.

"Well, we were, erm, kissing and taking off clothes, and, well, when it got kind of intense, you had an attack of some sort. Similar to when we first met but a whole lot worse. You were hyperventilating and crying and wouldn't respond. I kind of panicked and wrapped you in the blanket. I would have dressed you but I was too afraid of freaking you out more." Lance rambled. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed you."

Keith slipped an arm out to cradle Lance's face. He planted a kiss on Lance's forehead.

"You didn't. I want to do so much with you Lance. I don't know why I go into that mode. I want to try again. Later. Much, much later." Keith could feel himself coming down from whatever he went through. He was exhausted.

"Forget going to my parents' house. You are in no shape to do that." Lance declared. He looked at Keith, unsure. Like he wanted to say something but was holding back. "Is there anything I can do to help you right now?"

"You have done well with what has been done so far." Keith swore to himself. Did he even know what grammar was? He knew he wanted to do something... "Kiss me? Just kissing."

"Are you- are you sure?" Lance stuttered.

"We can try going really slow. I might try and think of ideas to help me get used to-" He gestured to Lance, who was also in his boxers "-aaaaall this."

Keith pushed Lance down on the bed and they kissed until Veronica called them for supper.

Veronica was chill with not going to pick up her stuff. She was not exactly itching to go over. As the group ate the tacos she made, Keith asked about what Lance was like as a child. Lance playfully kicked him under the table.

"Lance was at his worst in High School," Veronica started. Keith asked for her to explain. "Well, he hadn't come out of the closet yet, but I could tell that he was not straight."

"How?!" Lance exclaimed.

"Well, brother, I lived in the room next to yours. You flirted with both sexes. And remember that time you invited James Griffin over?"

Lance shot a look at his sister. Angry but with a mischievous glimmer in his eye. Keith was curious and amused at seeing the siblings interacting.

"What happened?"

"Well," Lance drew out the word "He didn't just come over the one time. I had been sneaking him into the house… And the night my dear sister is referring to is the night I, um… Had a particularly loud and steamy… Hang out session…"

Veronica snorted.

"Oh, you hung out all right," she smirked. "Multiple times."

Keith heard and felt a thud.

"Ow!" Veronica exclaimed, although she was laughing.

"Quite the loverboy?" Keith slyly said. He felt Lance lightly kick him under the table. It was playful.

"The only person I want to love now is you," he replied. Keith almost spit out his taco. He flashed a look to Lance that signified embarrassment. "Hey, if my sister can talk about the lovers from my youth at the dinner table, then I get to say things like that!"

There was silence at the dinner table while everyone finished their meals. Keith finished first, which made Lance stop to try and help him. Keith brushed him off though. He wanted to do stuff for himself. This caused Lance to lecture the cop about properly caring for himself. Keith continued to brush him off.

"Lance, you're such a nurse," Keith joked, slightly out of breath. He was leaning against Lance's chair. He hadn't gone past due to exertion.

"Keith, you need me to take care of you," Lance said. He stood up and placed himself to assist Keith. But Keith just grabbed his cane and did everything himself. He washed his dishes, taking a few breaks, before entering their room gruffly. Lance heard Keith mutter something about reading and being independent and not to help him at all tonight.

The Latino was dumbfounded. Why didn't Keith want help? He obviously needed it. He slumped dejectedly into his seat, across from his sister who had just finished her supper.

"I can see why you like him. He's very stubborn and very your type."

Lance flicked Veronica playfully. "What do you mean?"

"You love being able to help Keith. And his mysterious aura is very alluring for you. I know you Lance, you loved going after people you have to figure out or help. Keith is a bit of both."

Lance did not have any retort or response. He grumbled he was tired and was calling it a night.

Keith was already prepared for bed when Lance entered. Lance stripped down to his underwear and climbed into bed. He snuggled up to his boyfriend who had been staring at the wall the entire time Lance was in the room. It's how Lance found him.

"Hey," Lance trailed a hand down Keith's exposed arm. "How do you like Veronica?"

Keith struggled while rolling over to face Lance. Lance did not intervene. He knew Keith wanted to do things by himself now to gain autonomy.

"She's cool." He softly said. His eyes moved from Lance's eyes to the ceiling, down to the mattress.

"I think she likes you too," Lance remarked. "She wouldn't embarrass me in front of just anyone!"

Keith's small chuckle made Lance's heart leap.

"You know, Veronica and I have told you about my childhood but I know almost nothing about yours," Lance cautiously said. He knew Keith didn't talk about it. He had been living with the cop for almost a year now and knew almost nothing about his childhood. Did Keith have siblings?

Keith sighed. His eyes downcast.

"I'm not ready for that yet," he whimpered. Lance pulled Keith into a snuggle hug.

"That's ok. When you're ready, I will be here. Until then, however, we can snuggle."

Keith felt Lance plant a soft, meaningful kiss onto the boy's forehead. Keith ran a hand down Lance's jaw, grabbing his chin lightly and pulling the Cuban's mouth to meet his. Lance escalated the kiss into making out with Keith quickly. Soon Keith was pulling Lance to straddle him while rocking his hips mockingly. Lance paused to put on some music - for Veronica's sake and to fill the silence - while they got busy. Keith relaxed into his boyfriend's touch. Lance was gentle yet firm with him. Made sure to ask about moving forward. And while Keith felt a part of him wanting to retreat, to run out and never see Lance again, the other part of him took control for the first time. The part of him that wanted Lance so bad.

He was comfortable and enjoying himself as Lance disappeared under the blankets. For the first time, Keith was able to just relax into the sensations. He told Lance that this was his threshold at the moment. Anything past this was too much. Lance stopped right before Keith was going to explode with pleasure. The two laid in bed. Content. Happy. Ready to face the upcoming storm that was the rest of Lance's family.


	8. The Confrontation

**A/N: Hello! Here is a short chapter because I felt like where it ended was a good spot. Let me know how you like it by leaving a review**

 **TW: Abuse, confronting abuser**

Keith took a few days to gain enough strength to confront his roommates' dad. And family in general, but mostly the dad. They waited a few days; Veronica and Lance's younger sister who was a teenager met Veronica without their parents knowing to bring clothes. It sustained her until Keith was good to drive and to stand up with a cane. The group sat down at the dinner table the night before to discuss how they wanted to approach the situation. Keith would be fine with whatever as long as it did not strain his body. Lance suggested he knock on the door, announce their purpose for being there, and that way if their father refused he could push past him and Veronica would not get hurt. Keith didn't like the latter half of the plan.

"What if we go up to the door, I declare that I am a police officer, and that if he hurts either of you I'm arresting him." Keith put out. He wondered if Lance's dad knew about their relationship.

"What if he attacks you? Would you be in uniform?" Lance asked. Keith shrugged.

"If you want me to be, I can but I could also go slightly under cover or casual. It's up to your preference," Keith informed the siblings. Veronica suggested that Keith goes in casual wear, but with his belt and badge. She also asked if another cop could come for backup, which Keith quickly texted the group chat that was made. It had Hunk, Pidge, Allura, Coran, and Shiro. Hunk was the only one not working the next day and therefore was the designated backup. Keith messaged the address and told the other two the update.

Keith was very aware of the way Lance's leg bounced, how he couldn't sit still. He was biting his lower lip when thinking or listening. His eyes rarely looked at Keith.

Now that we have backup, Lance and I will enter together. Veronica you stay behind until it is clear that your father wouldn't do anything. Then you go collect your stuff."

They all agreed on that plan. She announced that she was going to bed straight away; Lance and Keith made their way to their bedroom. Lance sat on the bed with his arms crossed and fingers tapping. Keith sat next to him after putting his cane away, awkwardly wrapping an arm around Lance's shoulders. After a second, he removed it and snaked around Lance's waist, but felt weird about that too. He placed it on his leg, aiming for a comforting squeeze for the knee. Keith gasped when his hand accidentally squeezed Lance's thigh. Lance's breathing hitched and then he laughed so hard he laid down on the bed. Keith chuckled embarrassingly. Removed his hand. Lance grabbed the hand closest to him and with a gentle yank, brought Keith to lie down next to him. Their shins-down still hanging off of the bed. The two boys rolled to face each other; the criminal pulling the cop close. Wrapping his arms around his neck. Keith wrapped his around Lance's waist, eyes wide with awe. Lance planted a peck on Keith's nose.

"Keith, you're amazing," Lance said quietly.

"I like you too," Keith had a small smile.

"Pfff, just like?" Lance teased, but his voice was tight with concern. Not about the conversation, but about the events soon to happen. Before Keith could sputter out a response, Lance chuckled and placed their foreheads together. "I'm teasing. I know how you feel about me."

Keith shifted so that they there was no space between them.

"Can I kiss you?" Lance asked and Keith answered by pulling his face in. Between kisses, Lance asked if Keith wanted bottom or top; Keith always wanted bottom because he was too weak to be on top for long periods of time. Keith took Lance's shirt off, his following almost immediately. Lance gingerly ran his fingers over the healing wounds; Keith flinched at the touch, as he was unfamiliar with the sensation. Lance kissed down Keith's body to his belly button, going agonizingly slow. Lance's mouth travelled back up to meet his lips. But Lance teased him, brushing his lips over Keith's without actually kissing. Keith grabbed Lance's waist, tugging at the top of the pants.

"Off?" He asked. Lance shucked them off. He kissed Keith once they were off. Slowly got into a straddling position so Keith could feel him. Lance's hands went to two parts of Keith's chest. His mouth followed. The boy on bottom couldn't help but close his eyes and enjoy the sensation. Lance could feel Keith. Keith slid his hands down as Lance came back to his lips. Keith's hands stopped at the waistband of Lance's briefs. He asked to explore and was told to keep going. He smirked against Lance's lips when the boy on top squeaked at his touch. Keith teased Lance with his hands, then retreated to play with Lance's chest. Lance stopped kissing Keith, trying to regain composure. Lance started moving his hips on Keith's and the cop really wanted to feel it. He stopped his motions. Guiding Lance's hands by the wrists, he placed them underneath his own pants.

"Off," he stated.

"Are you sure?" Lance asked.

"Lance, I need to feel you on me," Keith growled and Lance obeyed. Once making sure the pants were off, Lance stood up and admired his boyfriend. He picked Keith up gently and placed him to be fully on the bed. He climbed onto the bed next to Keith, hesitating. Keith inquired what the other boy wanted to do. Lance asked if he could grind on Keith; Keith nodded in wonder. Soon he couldn't keep his eyes open, the sensation was too intoxicating. He felt pure bliss. Lance was making him feel things he had never felt before.

Keith woke up laying in his bed, only briefs on. He looked around for the boy whose arms he remember falling asleep in the night previous. Lance was in the bathroom. Keith heard him talking to Veronica, who was close to Keith's door and therefore outside of the bathroom. He got himself out of bed by himself, got dressed in casual wear and grabbed his cane. He joined the siblings and went to make breakfast. Toast for everyone.

Before leaving, Keith put on his badge and utility belt. His taser readily available. Lance was uncharacteristically quiet during the car ride. Keith already knew where their old house was so the only noise was from the radio. He pulled into the driveway. Turned off the car. No one moved.

Lance took a shaky breath as he looked at a place he once called home. Now the only place he considered a home was wherever Keith was. Keith made him feel good about himself. Lance hadn't known him long but he was most comfortable with Keith.

The cop was the first one out of the car, looking back when neither sibling moved.

"Well?" Keith asked expectantly. Lance took a second before getting out of the car. Keith informed them Hunk texted him that he was in position. "How do you wanna do this?"

Lance walked over to Keith and planted a kiss on his cheek and grabbed his hand.

"Together."

Lance and Keith approached the front door with Veronica following.

Lance's father unfortunately answered the door. Lance and Keith had not really discussed how they were going to approach the situation. Keith saw Lance flinch upon seeing his father but held up his brave bravado. Their father eyed Lance up and down, looked back at Veronica, and then took his time sizing up Keith.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Lance's father asked him, without losing eye contact with Keith. Keith defiantly kept the eye contact.

"We are here for Ronnie's things." Lance simply answered. His Father's eyes shifted over to him finally.

"It's under my roof, it is mine." He stated.

"Actually, no. It's Ronnie's." Lance swallowed hard. "Give her stuff to us and we won't have a problem here."

"The problem is that you showed up. After I told you the next time you showed your sleazy criminal ass here, you would get it good."

"Is that a threat?" Keith said, putting his hand on his hip to his belt. The father's gaze was back onto him.

"What's it to ya? Who the hell are you anyway, Lance's side hoe? You know he probably has a billion diseases, right?"

Keith pushed himself in front of Lance, blocking the Latino from his father, without losing eye contact.

"I believe we haven't met," Keith said tightly. "I'm Officer Kogane."

Keith slid his jacket to reveal his badge. Mr. McClain's eyebrows nearly jumped off his forehead.

"Ah, so you slutted your way out of the law did you?"

It was taking everything Keith had not to punch this guy.

"If you do not comply," Keith said firmly, ignoring the comment, "then we can do this the hard way. I have two accounts of child abuse, plus I have witnessed some verbal assault. I do not want to make the report I will already be filling out any harder."

Lance's father grumbled unaudibly but moved aside so they could enter. Keith moved to let Lance and Veronica go first. Keith entered last, smirked at Mr. McClain.

"Thank you for your compliance."

Keith stayed upstairs with their Father while Lance and Veronica went to her old room for her stuff. Mr. McClain kept his eyes on Keith, arms crossed in front of his chest. Keith, from where he was standing, could see most of the house. It was three floors, but very small. The kitchen, living room, and dining room seemed to be all on this floor. The stairs going up resembled more attic; they were wooden and most of the paint had peeled off. The carpet Keith was standing on went throughout the house, except for the kitchen. He could just make out tile. There were stains Keith did not want to know the origin of on the floor.

"What's going on?" an older, female voice called from somewhere in the house.

"Lance and Veronica barged in here to look grab her shit," he called.

"Lance? Veronica?" The woman sounded hopeful. It almost broke Keith's heart.

A woman came and stood beside Lance's father. She smiled warmly at Keith, not helping Keith's feeling of sadness and also awkwardness. He WAS Lance's boyfriend after all.

"Who are you, dear?" She warmly asked. Keith mustered a small smile for her.

"Keith. Lance's-" he looked from Lance's mom to the Father, "boyfriend and roommate."

"Not to mention arresting officer and…" Lance's father trailed off, but Keith could finish the sentence with a variety of possibilities. Mrs. McClain smacked him lightly.

"Finish the sentence. I dare you." Keith said. Mr. McClain grumbled again.

"Nice to meet you Keith. May I get you something to drink?" She asked. "Come in the kitchen and I can show you what we have?"

She seemed very persistent so Keith went along. Lance's father mentioned going out into the garage to do some work while we played Happy Family, and was on his merry way. Once Keith got to the kitchen, Mrs. McClain looked around the corner and watched as her husband went into the shed. Upon satisfaction, she turned back to Keith. Her demeanor completely gone. Instead of a loving and warm woman, she was a scared and tired one. She explained that she was scared about the children that were still in the house were in danger. Keith texted Hunk and Shiro about her confession and assured her that an investigation would be under way as soon as they get Veronica's stuff. He tipped off about bringing back up, but didn't tell her the extent of it or location. Keith received a text detailing what would happen. He told Mrs. McClain. Hunk would be coming in once Veronica and Lance were in Keith's car. Keith would ensure the safety of the children while Hunk arrests Mr. McClain.

"Oh there you are!" Lance exclaimed. He entered the kitchen and gave his mother a kiss.

"You ready to go?" Keith asked. Lance nodded.

"I have to wait for Hunk to come down."

Lance's expression changed to concern. When he questioned why, Keith admitted that Hunk would be taking his father into questioning. Lance nonchalantly uttered something on-comprehensible. Keith told him and Veronica to go wait inside of the car, just in case. Keith escorted the siblings and Lance's mother into a bedroom and said he would knock when they are safe to come out. The timing for this was close; Keith saw as soon as he entered back into the living room Lance's father storming back into the house, Hunk sneaking up behind him.

"Why the hell did you let them just take all of their shit?!" He yelled, assuming that Keith had left with Lance and Veronica. He stopped when he saw Keith in the middle of the living room.

"You bitch. Where is my family?"

"Mr. McClain," Keith evenly said "We are taking you in for questioning under suspicions of child abuse." Mr. McClain started protesting. "Attempts to fight back will result in a harsher sentence."

"Yeah? You and who else? You walk and act as if you have been injured recently."

Hunk was almost to Lance's father when suddenly the older man lunged at Keith. The cop moved out of the way, sending Mr. McClain to the ground. Hunk then placed cuffs on his wrists, hoisted him up to walk, and pulled him all the way out to the squad car. Keith made sure that Hunk had him securely in the bad side of the car before going to the rest of Lance's family. They thanked him profusely.

"You may have to come to the station to talk. We can sort out the details later…" Keith awkwardly looked down at the floor. "For now, just take it easy."

"Thank you, Officer Kogane," the mother was almost in tears. She approached Keith and squeezed his shoulder affectionately. "I think my son was right in choosing you."

Keith tried to stutter and answer but after many failed attempts, uttered "Thanks" and left the building.

The drive back was silent. Not even the radio was playing. Keith pulled into the parking lot of the apartment building, and the trio sat in the car in silence.

"You don't have to go into the station today if you don't want to," Keith said finally.

"I have to get my stuff all settled, so thanks."

The three of them unloaded the few bags and boxes that contained Veronica's stuff. It was done in two trips out to the vehicle. Keith and Lance went into their room while Ronnie unpacked and settled. Lance was quiet, which Keith had come to know that it meant he was processing the events and trying to understand his emotions. Keith sat on the edge of the bed while Lance did the same on the opposite side. Suddenly, Lance sidled up next to Keith, wrapping his arms around him and planting a kiss on his cheek.

"Are you tired?" Lance asked, stealing the question right out of Keith's brain.

"Are YOU? You're the one who had to watch your father get arrested." Keith bluntly said. Lance breathed out hard.

"I am not as bothered by that as I am about having to talk about what I went through. But right now, in this moment, I want to forget about that. I want to thank you for being amazing during this whole thing. And what better way than providing you something?"

Keith was intrigued. He gave Lance a questioning look. Lance came around to face Keith, sitting on his lap. They kissed, slowly at first. Keith got lost in the way Lance moved on his legs. Eventually, Lance pushed Keith down to lay on the bed. Keith whined a little when Lance demounted him after a long kiss. Lance told Keith to move up on the bed and lie on his stomach. Keith confusedly agreed, eager to see what Lance had in store. Lance asked if he could straddle Keith, and Keith consented. He asked if he could take Keith's shirt off, which was done. Lance began his work. Keith's back and shoulders were full of knots, as expected. He found every little nook and cranny and knot inside of Keith and undid him in the best way possible. Lance had a hard time not picturing them doing other things while hearing the noises of pleasure emitting from Keith. There was one spot in Keith's lower back that Lance did not hold back and Keith ended up screaming in delight. Lance noticed the red in Keith's face from embarrassment.

"You have so many knots in your back, Keith," Lance commented. Keith just moaned in response.

Both boys jumped when a loud thudding came from their door.

"I don't want to know what's going on in there, but KEEP IT DOWN!" Ronnie called from the other side of the door.

"I'm massaging Keith's back!" Lance yelled back.

"I don't want to know what that's code for!" Veronica called.

"Ronnie!"

Keith chuckled, hoping Lance couldn't see. But he did.

"Something funny Keith?"

Lance got off of him, Keith rolled to lay on his back, and Lance crawled back onto him. Keith reached up and tugged at Lance's shirt twice. He sat himself up all by himself.

"Oh my god!" Lance exclaimed after Keith planted a kiss on Lance's lips.

"What?" Keith looked concerned at Lance.

"I think that's the first time you have sat up by yourself since getting shot and stabbed!"

Keith rolled his eyes, a soft smile on his face.

"No, seriously. Usually you roll out of bed! Literally!"

"Just kiss me, Sharpshooter."

He did, and more.


End file.
